Queen of Clubs
by ClassyRiddle
Summary: Rivalry, jealousy, and obsession. The Deck is unlike any university society that Sakura has ever known of. So what happens when she gets initiated into this society and meets arrogant Syaoran - the leader's right hand? S
1. Default Chapter

Hey guys! This is my first fanfic! squeal I hope you'll like it... I have a feeling that the first chapter or so will be a bit... slow. Sorry! I'll try to make the next chapters more exciting! o R&R please!

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Rivalry, jealousy, sex, and obsession. Yes – The Deck is unlike any other college society you'll hear about. But what happens when bubbly little Sakura gets initiated into this society and meets arrogant Syaoran Li – its leader's right hand? Read to find out! 

Rating may go up in later chapters.

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**Default Chapter**

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Thump thump thump_.

Sakura's heart was beating wildly in her chest. Today as to be her first day in Tokyo and she had many reasons to be nervous.

For one, she had never before lived in a big city, since she spent her entire childhood in the small town of Tomoeda. Moreover, she was afraid to not fit in with the new university crowd. After spending two years in a community college, transferring into Clamp Campus University seemed to be THE most nerve-racking procedure to undertake.

Yes, being new to the university is something that every student has to live though, but Sakura has never quite been like everyone else!

Certainly, people couldn't be THAT discriminating in a university, so why should she be afraid of making new friends? Besides, she has good people skills, right? She's friendly, right? Right!

And sure, most of her childhood friends – including her best friend Tomoyo Daidouji - have been going to the university for the past couple of years, but she hasn't even seen the campus herself! And Tomoyo has always been rather vague in her descriptions of student life on campus.

'_I hope she isn't trying to hide anything…'_ Sakura thought, as a slight frown appeared on her otherwise flawless little forehead_, 'She's usually more than eager to tell me all about her next experiences, yet for the past two years I barely heard anything about her life in Tokyo apart from her progress in class!' _

In fact, Tomoyo HAS been more than eager to talk about her university life, but only up until a year into her university career. As soon as she became a sophomore, her reports of daily life have abruptly changed. The only thing that Sakura was ever able to get out of Tomoyo consisted of her best friend mentioning a society of some sort that has been taking up a lot of her time. Was it an Honors Society? A Sorority? Sakura couldn't even imagine…

Still pondering over her best friend's odd secrecy, Sakura stared out the dirty window of the moving bus. Not being the wealthiest of girls, she had to travel to Tokyo via bus. Her luggage and whatever furniture she decided to bring along with her was shipped ahead of her to an address that Tomoyo provided for her.

Sakura's frown deepened as she remembered that conversation with Tomoyo.

**Flashback**

"_Are you sure it will be alright if I live in the house? I know you've been living there for the past two years, but…"_

"_Sakura, say no more! I told you many, many times that it will be no problem whatsoever! I'm absolutely delighted that you're finally moving in! And you know that Rika, Chiharu, and Naoko have been living with me, and they can't wait to see you, either!"_

"_Which brings me to my next point. Exactly how many people live in that house of yours?"_

_At this question Tomoyo seemed to get that mumbling I'm-hiding-something-from-you voice that she would get whenever Sakura mentioned any part of her life that did NOT include her homework._

"_Umm…. I… Well… You know, there are Rika, and Chiharu, and Naoko, and… And…"_

"_And..? Tomoyo - Answer me! How many people?"_

"_Umm… Well, you'll just have to see for yourself, now won't you?" Tomoyo giggled nervously._

_Sakura knew that if she tried to push the subject further, Tomoyo would just give her another one of her 'You'll see for yourself' answers, so she decided to drop the subject._

"_Alright, fine! I know you're hiding something from me, but I'll go along with it anyways. You're my best friend and I hope that you know how much trust I am giving you by actually following through with this."_

"_I know, Sakura. And I promise you that you will NOT regret it!"_

_Hearing that made a cold shiver run down Sakura's spine. Something told her that that 'it' would be something that she would really have to get used to – much like the costumes that Tomoyo would make Sakura wear when they played dress up as little kids. _

_Tomoyo the happily continued, "Just send your stuff down to…"_

**End Flashback**

So here she was – on the bus to Tokyo, to a campus she's never been to, to a house that she's never seen, and to a life that was at the moment as unclear to her and the window she was looking through.

"NEXT STOP: TOKYO STATION" the intercom bellowed, breaking Sakura out of her thoughts. Her eyes focused on what was outside. The streets were filled with people and cars that were rushing to and fro, with numerous small restaurants and shops, and – like any other big city - with huge billboards and flashing neon lights. After taking in that overwhelming atmosphere, Sakura quickly gathered her purse and prepared herself to exit.

As soon as the bus got to a complete stop, she heard an all-to-familiar squeal coming from outside.

'_Tomoyo…'_ she thought, and unable to hide her smile, Sakura made her way towards the exit. As soon as she stepped outside the bus doors, she was tackled by a mass of dark, wavy hair.

"SAKURA! You're finally here! You're here, you're here, you're here!"

Covering her ears Sakura only gave her friend a shy smile before she was once again brought into a tight hug.

"I've waited for hours! How was your trip? Did it go by OK? How are you feeling? Tired? Hungry? Sleepy? How's your family? Kinomoto-sensei? Toya-kun? How was packing? I received your things… How do you like the city? It's not much, I know. But wait 'till you get to the campus! It's gorgeous! Oh! Campus! Did you get your class schedule yet? How many classes will you be taking? Which ones? What days!"

Sakura's eyes widened in shock at her friend's ability to ask so many questions without having to stop for breath. Yet before she could even attempt to answer any of the questions, she was grabbed by her hand and dragged in the direction of a black limousine. Only after she was settled in the back of the fancy vehicle was she allowed to actually open her mouth and respond to Tomoyo's inquiries.

"The trip was fine, but long… I'm felling as good as could possibly feel having just moved to a new city. I'm not too tired, nor too sleepy. But I must admit that I am a bit hungry. Dad and Toya are just fine. Packing was troublesome, but I managed. The city is overwhelming, and as for my class schedule… No. I have not received it yet. I'll have to pick it up next week, when classes officially begin. And that, I believe, concludes the formalities"

Sakura gave her friend a warm smile. It felt so good talking to her in person once again. Though hey always called each other on the phone, Sakura has deeply missed seeing her friend. She was happy to notice that Tomoyo had hardly changed at all. She still had the same long, black hair that shone with violet when in the sun. She still had those gleaming amethyst eyes that always sparkled with a mischievous joy. She was wearing a simple outfit – jeans and a soft lavender blouse. Yet something about that outfit caught Sakura's eye – a pin in the shape of a clubs sign with a small 10 engraved in it. Sakura wondered as to why Tomoyo would wear a pin, or where she would even get such a pin. But Sakura's thought were then interrupted.

"You're right. The formalities are over." Tomoyo made a slight pause before giving Sakura a playful smile "So… Are you nervous?"

"Of course! I'm starting a new semester, in a new school, in a new city… Even you seem to be an entirely different person!"

Tomoyo gasped at the last statement and added in mock-hurt "Whatever do you mean?"

"Oh, you know what I'm talking about. All that secrecy! The lack of information you give me about your pastime here in Tokyo, or even about the house that I'm moving into!" Sakura decided to be frank. If she didn't ask now, when would she?

"You're right… But now that you're actually here, I can finally tell you all!" Tomoyo grinned.

"So in order for me to be your trustworthy friend, I had to come to Tokyo?" Sakura asked in disbelief and irritation.

"No you silly! I also had to have all of your belonging in my possession to make sure that you wouldn't change your mind"

Sakura nearly chocked on her own breath. That was definitely NOT the response she though Tomoyo would give her. She threw Tomoyo an uneasy look. Was her own friend implying that she would blackmail her into staying in Tokyo by keeping all of her stuff for ransom? On look at Tomoyo said it all. Yes.

Tomoyo was giving her an 'innocent', calm smile. All of the sudden that cold shiver once again ran down Sakura's spine. _'I knew it…'_

"Tomoyo… What are you up to?" she asked in a low voice.

"Oh, only something that will change your life forever" – once again, that little smug smile – "Say, Sakura, you like playing cards, no?" Tomoyo threw her another smug little smile and watched Sakura's face fill with confusion.

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**Preview of Chapter 1**

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"It all has to do with The Deck." Tomoyo calmly replied. 

"The deck? What deck?"

"THE Deck!" Tomoyo made a dramatic pause, "A society of the elites that call themselves The Deck".

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	2. Ch1 How to Play the Game

Thank you SO much for the reviews, guys! tear of joy I wasn't sure if I should go on with the story, but thanks to you, I'll make sure to continue writing it! o So keep on reading!

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Previously on Queen of Clubs: **

"Tomoyo… What are you up to?" she asked in a low voice.

"Oh, only something that will change your life forever" – once again, that little smug smile – "Say, Sakura, you like playing cards, no?" Tomoyo threw her another smug little smile and watched Sakura's face fill with confusion.

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Chapter 1 – How to Play the Game**

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Sakura blankly stared at her friend. _'She… must be going insane._' 

"Cards? Tomoyo, what are you talking about?"

"Just bear with me! I know it may seem weird, but cards – yes, regular playing cards – actually have a lot to do with my "secrecy" as you put it" Tomoyo gave her a reassuring smile and Sakura felt herself relax. In the long years of their friendship, Sakura learned not to take Tomoyo's advice for granted. If she says cards are important, then cards are important.

"So… Cards, huh?" Sakura tried to guess what her friend was getting at. "Are you trying to tell me that you developed a gambling problem?"

Tomoyo nearly fell out of her limousine seat, "NO! I most certainly did NOT!" Sakura only chuckled at this and motioned for her to go on. "Well, in that case, just tell me what you mean by it."

Tomoyo gave her friend a sly smile that once again send a chill down Sakura's spine. '_God, what is she UP to?'_

"It all has to do with The Deck." Tomoyo calmly replied.

"The deck? What deck?"

"THE Deck!" Tomoyo made a dramatic pause, "The society of the elites that call themselves The Deck".

Sakura stared at her friend, obviously not getting what she was saying. _'Society of the elites? What in heaven's name is THAT?'_

Tomoyo, sensing her friend's confusion, decided to take the opportunity of the silence and continue her revelation "The Deck is the reason for my lack of time and my lack of openness. I'm really truly sorry for not having told you about it sooner, but I just wanted to make sure the society was proper enough. Besides, if I gave away all of its secrets to you, you wouldn't enjoy finding them out for yourself and I wouldn't have as many opportunities to record your surprised face with my new video camera!" at this, Tomoyo dished out a brand new digital video camera and laughed.

Now it was Sakura's turn to nearly fall out of her seat. "Oi, Tomoyo… You don't mean you're still not over your 'I-want-to-film-Sakura-doing-anything' phase? Wait!" Suddenly Sakura noticed something odd about what Tomoyo had just told her, "What do you mean by 'you finding out for yourself'?" Something told her that this is exactly what Tomoyo has been up to and exactly the reason why her best friend was holding her personal belongings for ransom.

"Why! You're going to find out everything about it during your initiation!" Tomoyo smiled happily, as she turned the camera on and proceeded to film Sakura, "Ah! Here's Sakura's Surprised Face #1!"

"M-my initiation? You mean I'M going to be initiated into that society of yours!" Sakura couldn't believe her ears. Not only was she going to have to get used to a new city, and a new university – now she would also have to get used to an entirely new aspect of her life – an elite society.

"Yes, Sakura! You're joining! In fact, you'll be starting today." Tomoyo smiled happily.

"T-today! But how? When? Why?" Sakura was still at a loss of words.

"Yes, today. How? Easily! Today all you'll have to do is get the final approval of your initiation from the Royal Court. When? In a few hours… We'll get to the society's headquarters soon enough and then you'll get to meet the Court and the rest of the group. Why? Because I signed you up!" Tomoyo gave Sakura another one of her bright smiles. It's as if she was talking about Sakura getting lunch, not about Sakura getting initiated into a society that she knew nothing about.

Sakura's first instinct was to shake and scream at her best friend, yet noticing how joyful Tomoyo looked she decided to at least consider joining. She WAS worried about fitting in at the university, right? And joining this society would give her a place to belong in. The least she could do is give it a try.

She sighed in defeat "Alright. I guess I'll be joining your society…"

"YAY!" Tomoyo squealed with delight, "You'll love it!"

"Yeah, yeah… You say so." Sakura still had some trouble believing that this would be an easy thing for her to deal with, but how could she disappoint Tomoyo? '_Look at her!_' she thought, '_She's practically jumping for joy!_'

"Just tell me one thing, Tomoyo… Who's "The Royal Court"?" Sakura thought that since she'll be joining this society, she might as well get to know something about it.

"Oh! The Royal Court! Well, you see, our society is structured after the hierarchy of a card deck – that's why I said that playing cards are actually quite important in what I'm going to tell you. Well… As an inductee, you'll be starting out as the lowest ranking 'card' – the One."

"Ok…" Sakura stared at her friend. 'This doesn't sound so complicated' "And it goes up all the way to…?"

"The Ace! The Ace is the head of your group… I haven't met him personally, I'm only a Ten myself. Only people of the Royal Court – or the Face cards – are allowed to openly interact with The Ace."

'Well...' thought Sakura, 'at least that explains the ten on Tomoyo's pin.' She once again gazed at her best friend's brooch. It was quite a beautiful piece – a silver pin shaped like after the clubs symbol, with a 10 engraved into it. Sakura pointed to the pin, "Is that how you differentiate people of different ranks?"

"Yes! The ten signifies my rank. The Royal Court's pins, however, are made of gold… I guess that's the easiest way to tell them apart."

Sakura nodded. 'Not difficult at all…' "So… The Royal Court consists of the King, the Queen, and the Page?"

Tomoyo shook her head in agreement "Yup! But there are also people in the Court that aren't quite Royals…"

"Huh?" Sakura frowned "But those are the only face cards!"

"Uh-uh-uh! You're forgetting the Joker!" smiled Tomoyo, "But there ARE people in the group that aren't face cards – or any cards, for that matter. But you'll learn more about them later!"

Sakura dumbly nodded. She didn't quite know what else to ask, besides… "How do you go up in rank? You said that you start out as a One, yet you're already a Ten!"

Tomoyo laughed with delight "I see your competitive nature is already coming through, Sakura. You go up in rank by gaining the favor of someone from a rank higher than you. The higher the rank of that person, the higher your reward will be. Since I'm only a Ten myself, I'd only be able to promote you up to a Nine."

"Oh, I see. And how do you gain someone's favor?"

Tomoyo threw Sakura a mischievous smile, "You'll find out…"

The rest of the drive passed in Tomoyo pestering Sakura with questions about their home town and Sakura's excitement about a fresh, new school year. Yet the closer they drew to their destination, the more nervous Sakura became. She knew that once they arrived, she would have to face the members of the society.

Sakura once again looked out the window of a moving vehicle and thought about her near future as her heart began to race.

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

All of the sudden, something outside the limo's window caught her eye. A very, VERY huge something. Sakura's eyes widened in shock.

Tomoyo chuckled at her friend's amazement "And that, my dear Sakura, is the Clubs Castle – Japan's headquarters of The Deck."

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Preview of Chapter 2**

She took the first thing she could lay her hands on – her purse – and threw it, yes THREW IT, straight towards the once again retreating form of the young man.

With a loud _'thwomp'_ the purse hit the brown-haired man right in the back of his head making everyone around them gasp in shock and amazement.

"Cad!" Sakura spit out through clenched teeth and turned to walk away herself. When she turned around, however, she found her friends looking at her with fearful admiration.

"S-sakura… That was The King!" stuttered the shocked Rika.

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	3. Ch2 She Came with a Bang

Hey guys! Thanks again for reviewing... o Reading your comments makes my day! OH! You know what I noticed...? In my first couple of chapters, I didn't post a disclaimer! o.O So here goes:  
**I DON'T OWN CCS!** So don't sue me! >  
Umm... Yeah! Keep on readin'! o

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Previously on Queen of Clubs:**

All of the sudden, something outside the limo's window caught her eye. A very, VERY huge something. Sakura's eyes widened in shock.

Tomoyo chuckled at her friend's amazement "And that, my dear Sakura, is the Clubs Castle – Japan's headquarters of The Deck."

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Chapter 2 – She Came with a Bang**

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Sakura stepped out of the limousine with her mouth wide open. It's the only thing she could do – gape at the enormous building in front of her. 

The building WAS nothing short of a castle – made out of bring and a full five stories high! Wide windows gleamed on every wall and carved stone statues and relieves adorned the façade of the mansion. The gardens surrounding the front of the castle were just as magnificent – filled with blooming trees and flowers, and even a fountain! If this is how the front of the mansion looked like, Sakura could only guess as to the wonders she would find INSIDE.

"Stop staring, and let's go inside! I'm sure people are already waiting for us!" at saying that, Tomoyo quickly grabbed Sakura by the arm and dragged her towards the front entrance.

The front door was just as massive as the rest of the building – huge double doors carved out of a dark oak wood. Tomoyo used a giant knocker to announce their arrival. A few moments passed before the giant doors were swung open and Sakura – for the second time in that day – was tackled by a mass of hair.

"SAKURAAAAAAAAAA!" a chorus of voices screamed and Sakura found herself embraced by none other that Rika, Chiharu, and Naoko – girls that she grew up with just like Tomoyo. She was so happy to see them, that she momentarily forgot that their tight hugs were making it hard for her to breathe.

"G-guys! What are you doing here?" was the only thing Sakura managed to squeak out.

"Well," replied Chiharu, loosening her grip on Sakura, "We're in the society! Well… Rika and I are, that is. Naoko is joining this year – just like you!" Hearing this Sakura threw a surprised look at all of them, and finally landed her gaze at Tomoyo, who was currently busy filming Sakura's reunion with her childhood friends.

Tomoyo grinned "Sakura's surprised face #2!" The rest of the girls giggled and dragged Sakura inside of the house.

"You're going to love it here, Sak!" cheered Chiharu, "With you here, our former Tomoeda group is finally complete!" Sakura smiled in agreement. _'That's true_,' she thought, _'The five of us used to always hang out back in Tomoeda._'

Sakura's focus was then shifted to the interior of the mansion. The front hall was… amazing. It was absolutely enormous and even somewhat intimidating for someone like Sakura, who has never been in a place quite like it. The Front hall was richly decorated with paintings, sculptures, and beautiful plush furniture. In the middle of it, a giant stair case ran up to the next level of the house, dividing the mansion into two wings – left and right. People were rushing to and fro in the hall, gathering in groups, laughing, talking, exchanging formalities. Everything seemed to be buzzing with excitement.

Sakura didn't fail to notice that all of the people, excluding herself, were wearing clubs brooches much like Tomoyo's. All of them were silver, yet all had different numbers carved into them. She saw amongst the crowd nines, sevens, threes… In fact, every number card of a card deck was represented by someone or many someones!

Sakura noticed that her friends – Rika and Chiharu – were wearing pins with a 10 engraved in them. '_So they're in Tomoyo's rank…_' she thought. She then quickly glanced at Naoko, who was wearing a pin as well, only hers read "1".

Sakura's thoughts were then rudely interrupted as someone harshly bumped into her, making her nearly fall of her back. Sakura squeaked in surprise, but then realized that Rika, who was standing behind her, grabbed a hold of her just in time to prevent Sakura from falling straight on her ass.

Sakura shifted her face towards the person that has so offensively bumped into her. It was a young man nearly an entire head taller than her, stylishly dressed in a dark suit. The back of his head was covered with messy brown hair.

BACK of his head? Oh, yes… The guy was actually walking away without even glancing at Sakura to see if she were alright. As Sakura realized that the person who practically pushed her wasn't stopping to apologize, her anger flared.

"Excuse you!" she bit out at the retreating figure.

At this phrase the young man stopped and slowly, very slowly, turned his head to face Sakura. "What was that?" his voice was deep and masculine, with a hint of dangerous annoyance in it. Sakura could not help but notice the beautiful shade of his eyes – gleaming, fiery amber. Yet at the moment the eyes were staring through narrowed eyelids. Sakura didn't like this one bit.

"You bump into, cause me to nearly fall on the floor, and then go one as if it's not something that deserves an apology?" she stared at him in fuming disbelief. '_The nerve of this guy! People in this society better NOT have manners such as that!'_

"Well, perhaps you should have been looking where you were going!" he growled in a low tone and was about to continue on his way before…

"I could say the same for you!" Sakura was not going to let him go without receiving an apology. She might be new to this society, but she was not a pushover!

The young man once again turned to her, his face now slightly tinted with surprise. 'Who is this moron of a girl? Doesn't she know who she's talking to?' His eyes traveled her clothing and found no sign of a pin to indicate her rank. 'Must be an inductee' at this he sighed in frustration.

"Stupid! Do you even know who you're dealing with? Why don't you just let this go and run along with your business. I have more important people to be taking with." At that, he turned on his heels and continued walking away from the scene.

People all around were now staring at the two arguing and Sakura would not let herself be talked to in that way in front of a group of strangers. The arrogance of this guy simply blew her mind, and in a fit of anger, she did the unbelievable…

She took the first thing she could lay her hands on – her purse – and threw it, yes THREW IT, straight towards the once again retreating form of the young man.

With a loud _'thwomp'_ the purse hit the brown-haired man right in the back of his head making everyone around them gasp in shock and amazement.

"Cad!" Sakura spit out through clenched teeth and turned to walk away herself. When she turned around, however, she found her friends looking at her with fearful admiration.

"S-sakura… That was The King!" stuttered the shocked Rika.

Sakura stood still as a statue, her eyes wide with disbelief. "T-the King?" she muttered.

"Yes, the King" said the masculine voice right from behind her. Sakura's back stiffened and she was much too scared to turn around and face The King. _'Oh, God… This is just my luck!'_ she screamed in her mind, yet on the outside, she recollected herself and turned around only to find two amber orbs boring into her own eyes.

She noticed that his eyes were now sparkling with some amusement. Sakura allowed herself to note just how handsome his eyes really were, but then she noticed that the amusement in his eyes largely came due to the small smirk that rested on his lips. Immediately Sakura knew that the amusement that she saw in his eyes was to come at her own expense.

He slowly handed her the purse.

"Since you're obviously new around here, I won't have your head for this little stunt," he said in his low, silky voice," However… If I were you, I'd be a little more careful with flinging my things at total strangers. You never know how it might come back to you…" his smirk widened as he saw fear filling Sakura's eyes. He gave her a wink and walked away, leaving her in her stunned position.

Sakura remained stationary for a few more moments before she sighed in desperation, "So much for gaining the favor of the Royal Court…"

What Sakura did not know that by irritating one royal, she greatly pleased another.

"Ah! I see our last inductee has arrived! And arrived for a bang!" a voice boomed across the entire hall. Sakura's eyes shifted to the source of the voice – the staircase. A girl no older than Sakura herself was slowly making her way down the staircase, beaming with a great smile.

The girl's long black hair was pulled into two ponytails at each side of her head. She was wearing a glamorous Chinese-styled dress that came down to her knees. Near the collar of the dress, a gold pin with a "P" engraved into it shimmered in the light.

As the young woman descended the staircase, she made her way straight towards Sakura. Once she came face to face with her, she looked Sakura up and down and concluded her observation by throwing Sakura a wide grin.

"That was some throw!" she laughed, "I haven't seen my cousin so surprised in years!" At this she gave Sakura a hard pat on the back, causing her to nearly topple over.

"I'm Meilin, by the by, Meilin Li. The Page of the Royal Court" she beamed at Sakura, "I gotta tell ya, you've got some spunk! It takes a lot to make Syaoran express ANY sort emotion."

"Umm… Thanks?" Here Sakura was, thinking that she would be severely punished for her antics, and she was getting a pat on the back for it? She didn't know whether to laugh or cry for joy.

"Don't worry… You've got my respect. HA! Syaoran's face was priceless!" she laughed out loud and began to walk away in the direction that The King – or Syaoran, as Meilin called him – went in. But before Meilin walked too far away, she turned and asked "What's your name, by the way?"

"S-sakura! Sakura Kinomoto" Sakura managed to mumble out.

"Ah!" Meilin cried in recognition, "You're the girl that Tomoyo invited in, no?" Sakura only nodded in reply. "Well then, Sakura… Good luck with the initiation" Meilin gave her a playful wink and threw her a tiny glittering object. When Sakura caught it, she recognized it as the now all-too-familiar clubs shaped brooch. Only this one was engraved with a "2".

Tomoyo and the rest of the girls ran over to Sakura and looked at the object she was holding in her hand.

"Wow! Meilin obviously thinks you're good enough to start initiation as a two! Way to go, Sakura!" said Tomoyo.

"Yeah, thanks… But you're forgetting that I still might have to face the wrath of The King. Something tells me he won't make this easy for me…" Sakura sighed.

"Aww… Don't worry, Sak!" chirped Chiharu, "With your bubbly personality, you'll have no problem getting through this initiation!"

"Yeah!" piped in Naoko, "Everyone will love you!"

"Thanks, guys…" Sakura praised the lord that her friends were there to support her. _'As long as they're around, I'll have nothing to worry about…'_

Then Tomoyo grabbed Sakura and Naoko by the hands and dragged them off after Meilin.

"Come on! Enough of this sappiness! It's time to get the ball rolling and get you guys started on your first week's initiation task!"

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Preview of Chapter 3**

He allowed himself to look her up and down. Though she was only wearing jeans and a light pink tank top, he could tell that she had a great body. He slightly blushed when he realized just where his thought were about to take him.

He cleared his throat and shook his head to clear his mind. Yet when he turned his attention back to Sirota, he found him staring at Sakura with much the same eyes as he was just seconds ago. 'No… The look HE's giving her is different… It's lustful' thought Syaoran with aversion.

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	4. Ch 3 The Inductees Step Up

Wow... I'm writing this thing up pretty quickly. Must be the reviews. They give me so much confdence! oThanks! Truth be told, I'm already working on chapter 5! o.O And I only started writing a few days ago... Wow - the wonders of the weekend!

Disclamer: I DON'T OWN CCS! Please don't sue me... 

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**Previously on Queen of Clubs:**

Then Tomoyo grabbed Sakura and Naoko by the hands and dragged them off after Meilin.

"Come on! Enough of this sappiness! It's time to get the ball rolling and get you guys started on your first week's initiation task!"

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**Chapter 3 – The Inductees Step Up**

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Syaoran went into the lounge and loudly shut the door behind him. The smirk that adorned his face only moments ago still hasn't left his lips. To him, initiation time used to be the dullest part of the year. This year, however, he could feel that it was going to be different. 

Never has an inductee dared to do something as stupid as throw something at The King. Syaoran chuckled. _'I can't believe that she would actually throw her purse at me!' _thought Syaoran with slight amazement. He should have been angry, yes, but somehow he just couldn't bring himself to do it. The girl's reaction to finding out his title was absolutely hilarious! _'She definitely made the wrong move… But at least she provided me with some entertainment,_' he thought. Yet his title was not something he would allow to be offended. She did nearly make a fool out of him, and that could not go by unpunished.

Syaoran's smirk widened even farther as he thought of ways that he could pay back the feisty inductee. His planning, however, was interrupted by the doors of the lounge quickly opening. Two young men walked inside the lounge and found Syaoran standing in the middle of the room, deep in thought.

"It's 9 o'clock - time for the announcement of the first week's task, Syaoran." said the young man with short, black hair that looked almost as if it was midnight blue. His indigo eyes sparkled with mirth as he looked at his friend through the glasses that he was wearing. "How's your head, by the way?" He tried to make the question sound innocent, yet the implication of it was not lost by Syaoran.

"Don't tell me you've seen the little incident as well, Eriol… God, the last thing I need is you pestering me about it." Syaoran threw his friend an icy glare and quickly made his way towards a mini bar that was located in the far right corner of the room.

"With all the racket that you and that young lady were making, I doubt there is ONE person in the entire building that hasn't seen or at least heard about the 'incident', as you call it." Eriol smiled at Syaoran as he was pouring himself a drink.

"That girl is definitely something, isn't she?" said the second man. His maroon-colored eyes were staring off into nowhere, as he spoke. He seemed to be imagining the girl, rather than simply talking about her. "A beauty…" he whispered.

Syaoran and Eriol both threw him an odd look. "What was that, Sirota?" asked Eriol.

"Oh!" Sirota shook his head, as he was brought out of his trance by Eriol's question, "I was just thinking about that girl. She's truly something, no?"

Syaoran's eyes also flickered with dislike. Something about the tone in Sirota's voice made him uneasy. He watched him closely, as Sirota's eyes once more became glazed and stared off into space. Syaoran furrowed his eyebrows as he took a long drink out of his glass.

Eriol watched Syaoran's face change with loathing and smiled. _'I see Sirota isn't the only one who thinks of this young lady as something special…' _

Wanting to find out more on the subject, Eriol decided to go along with what Sirota was saying. "Yes, she really IS something. Don't you think so, Syaoran?"

Syaoran simply shrugged his shoulders, "She's tolerable, I suppose…" Syaoran did not like where this conversation was going. He sat his glass down and declared, "Didn't you say it was time for the announcement?"

Eriol chuckled at Syaoran's attempt on changing the subject. The fact that he was uncomfortable talking about the girl made it clear to Eriol that Syaoran did indeed think of this young lady more than just 'tolerable'. _'Perhaps she can actually make him warm up a bit...'_

The three men were then startled by the doors opening with a loud bang. They looked towards it and found Meilin standing in the doorway. One look at her face made Syaoran groan in dejection. "You can stop gloating now, Meilin…" he sighed out.

"Aww. That hurts, Syao…" Meilin said, with mock hurt, "I just came to check on you. Are you feeling alright?" she came to his side and patted him on the head. Syaoran pushed her hand away and gave her his infamous death glare. Meilin only laughed in response.

"No need to get hostile, Syao! And get that scowl off your face – the inductees are ready for the announcement."

"Alright, let them in" said Syaoran, as he straightened out his suit. Eriol and Sirota made themselves comfortable in two chairs that stood by the bar, as Meilin opened the door and let in the new inductees along with the rest of the society.

In a few moments the entire lounge was filled with people. Everyone was chatting happily and excitedly, creating a loud buzzing in the entire room. Syaoran stared at the crowd as it rushed through the door. Then his eyes caught sight of an all-to-familiar face.

Sakura was still being dragged by Tomoyo. Numerous times she tried to protest being handled like a child, but Tomoyo would hear nothing of it. Eventually, Sakura gave in and simply took comfort in the fact that her friend Naoko was dealing with the same fate.

As Sakura entered the lounge, she was once again shocked at how gorgeously the room was decorated. The walls of the room were painted in a nice shade of gold with stunning paintings hanging on every side of the room. The furnishing included a big red velvet couch with two matching chairs, a beautifully carved coffee table, a few large bookshelves, and a mini bar with chairs around it. The left side of the room also had a giant fireplace, with a few small sculptures on its mantle.

The entire room screamed elegance. Sakura started to feel out of place, yet her admiration of the room ended as she felt someone's gaze upon her. Her eyes traveled back to the mini bar, where she found not only one gaze, but FOUR gazes staring at her. She gulped, _'W-why are they staring at me?'_

Eriol, Sirota, Meilin, and Syaoran watched Sakura being dragged in by Tomoyo. Eriol and Meilin smirked. Sirota stared at Sakura without blinking even once - as if she were to disappear any moment! Syaoran, on the other hand kept glancing from Sirota, to Sakura, and then back to Sirota.

Eriol chuckled once again at Syaoran's reaction. Sirota was obviously taken with this young girl, and it seemed as if Syaoran did not like that one bit.

When Syaoran's eyes made their way towards Sakura once more, he found that she was looking at him as well. Her deep emerald eyes looked at him with slight fear. Though his mind kept screaming, _'What are you doing! Stop staring at her!_' he couldn't make his eyes move.

Though he told his friends that Sakura was merely 'tolerable', he knew very well that the girl he was currently looking at was nothing short of gorgeous. Her short, amber-brown hair perfectly contoured her face, her green eyes shone like the brightest emeralds he ever beheld, and her rosy-pink lips were practically driving him insane.

He allowed himself to look her up and down. Though she was only wearing jeans and a light pink tank top, he could tell that she had a great body. He slightly blushed when he realized just where his thoughts were about to take him.

He cleared his throat and shook his head to clear his mind. Yet when he turned his attention back to Sirota, he found him staring at Sakura with much the same eyes as he was just seconds ago. _'No… The look HE's giving her is different… It's lustful'_ thought Syaoran with aversion.

Syaoran frowned, but decided that at the moment there wasn't much he could do about it. _'This isn't the time to be thinking about silly little girls! Besides, as The King, I have no business worrying about nobodies like her'_ he told himself and moved towards the crowd.

"SILENCE!" his deep voice boomed over the crowd, making everyone afraid to even breathe.

His lips curled into a sly smile. "Good. My name is Syaoran Li and I am The King of Clubs. I'm not one for long introductions, so I'm going to cut the crap and get right to it. It is time for the inductees as well as for the returning members to receive their first assignments." As Syaoran mentioned the inductees, his eyes momentarily shifted to Sakura, but he kept himself in check and moved his gaze away.

"Will the inductees please step forward."

Sakura felt herself being pushed forward. She threw a quick glare at Tomoyo, who only waved from behind her camera, and continued walking towards the middle of the room.

Sakura noticed that out of the entire crowd, only a few people turned out to be inductees. Besides Naoko and herself, she noticed that two more girls were being initiated into the society. Sakura also saw that four guys were stepping forward. _'That makes a total of 8 inductees! Wow! Small group…' _

As she was looking over her fellow inductees, she noticed that one of the girls was glaring at her. Sakura gulped '_What's her problem?'_

"For the first week, the inductees will have to fulfill a task given to them by the highest ranking female of our society. This happens to be Meilin Li – The Page." Meilin waved, hearing her name being announced and strolled over to Syaoran's side.

"That's right. And don't worry guys – my tasks are never that hard." Meilin gave them all a wink, but a series of 'Yeah right's' could be heard coming from every returning member in the hall.

"First of all, I would like all the new inductees to tell us their name and the rank that they are starting with," spoke Meilin as she took a seat in one of the plush chairs by the couch.

"My name is Takahiro Mimoko and I'm a One." said the first boy, who although he was rather short, seemed to have a lot of guts.

"My name is Tori Sutsime" smiled a second boy, dressed in a bright-orange suit that hurt Sakura's eyes, "and I, too, am a One."

"I'm Loda Kimo. One," the third boy was frank - obviously not one for talking. He simply folded his muscular arms over his huge chest and remained still as a statue.

"Seiriu Tomoshi, here!" gleamed the last boy, with a huge smile on his face "And like my buddies here, I'm starting out as a One."

Now it was the ladies' turn to introduce them selves. The two girls that Sakura was not familiar with cleared their throats to indicate that they wanted to go first, and Sakura was more than willing to let them.

The first girl smiled, showing off her pearly-white teeth and said "I'm Hitomi Akido, a One just like my friend here," she pointed to the girl standing next to her.

Her friend, a girl with long blond hair and blue eyes, happened to be the one that was throwing Sakura death glares. "I'm Mina Yamaguchi, and like my friend said, I'm a One."

Sakura nudged Naoko to speak before her, and Naoko complied.

"I'm Naoko and I'm a One, as well…"

Now Sakura knew that it was her turn. She found that everyone was staring at her and thought it to be most uncomfortable.

"My name is Sakura Kinomoto, and I'm a Two." Low whispers began to circle the room. Sakura figured that it wasn't a regular thing for someone to start out with a rank higher than a One. The looks that everyone was throwing her were mostly that of intrigue. 'Hoee…' Sakura mentally sighed.

"GREAT!" beamed Meilin, "Welcome to The Clubs! And now for your assignments…"

**

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**

**Preview of Chapter 4:**

"Aww, come now Li. Let the poor girl be…" slowly said a man, coming out from behind Syaoran. "My name is Sirota Tsu" he took Sakura's hand in his own and gave it a light kiss, "The Clubs' Royal Ambassador to China. And I would be more that willing to assist you in anything."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Tsu" frankly said Sakura. "Oh, please – call me Sirota," said the man in the same slow voice. His maroon eyes were watching her every move, and Sakura quickly started feeling self-conscious. _'What's with this guy?'_

_

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_


	5. Ch4 The Task

Sorry I haven't updated in a few days - I guess I've been a little lazy. But here's the next chapter! I promis I'll update a lot in the next couple of days. I've been working hard - typing up the next few chapters! proud hero pose  
Oh! I think I will not do any more "Previews" at the ends of chapters... It will take me longer to update if I keep doing that. lol  
Alright! Enjoy! And don't forget to review! I LOVE getting reviews!

**

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Previously on Queen of Clubs:**

"My name is Sakura Kinomoto, and I'm a Two" low whispers bean to circle the room. Sakura figured that it wasn't a regular thing for someone to start out with a rank higher than a One. The looks that everyone was throwing her were mostly that of intrigue. '_Hoee…'_ Sakura mentally sighed.

"GREAT!" beamed Meilin, "Welcome to The Clubs! And now for your assignments…"

**

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Chapter 4 – The Task**

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Meilin looked at each of the new inductees and rubbed her chin.

"Hmm... With only eight of you, I don't think this will be too hard." She smiled and stood up from her chair, walking towards the inductees.

"Takahiro!" she addressed the first boy, "Your task will be to clean and keep clean the castle grounds. That includes trimming the hedges, moving the lawn, and watering all the plants."

Takahiro's eyes widened "All by myself?"

"Yes, all by yourself!" chirped Meilin, and before Takahiro could further protest, Meilin moved on to the next boy. "You, Tori, will be in charge of the ladies' cars. There are currently only 20 in use. This means that you'll have to clean the cars inside and out, and fill up the tanks every day for the next week!"

Tori gulped, and slowly nodded, not having enough will-power to try and argue with Meilin.

"Loda… Since you seem to be a man of a few words, I assign you the left wing's attic. Over the past couple of years, the women's side of the building has stored up a lot of things in the attic, and I think it's about time someone cleared it all up."

Loda, liking the idea of working by himself, in a secluded place, nodded in approval.

"And as for you, Seiriu…. I like your attitude! You shall be my errand boy for the week! This, however, means that you won't be just doing my bidding. If the girls of the society give me a list of things to buy, get, or fix, I'll be forwarding it to you!" Meilin smiled.

Seiriu, though a bit intimidated by the task, smiled and bowed to Meilin. He was gracious for being chosen as her errand boy.

Then Meilin turned to the girls. "You ladies I will go a bit easier on, since this IS the females' task…"

Turning to Hitomi she said, "You'll be in charge of cleaning all of the left wig's bath and bedrooms. There are only about two of each, and you only have to dust, vacuum clean, and organize each room, so don't worry!" Hitomi nearly chocked when she heard the enormous task that was assigned to her.

"Mina…. You'll be responsible for all the ladies' laundry for this week! You'll have to wash the linens, towels, curtains, and rugs." Mina made a disgusted face, but silently complied.

"Naoko – you seem like a book nerd!" smiled Meilin. Naoko only shyly nodded in reply. "Well, in that case, I'll leave it up to you to spend this week reorganizing the upstairs library!"

"L-library?" chocked out Naoko, her eyes growing wide with excitement.

"Yes, library…" said Meilin and then turned to Sakura "And you, my dear… You will have a task that's a little different. Since all of us present have no doubt of your 'energetic' nature" Meilin gave her a playful wink as the rest of the crowd quietly laughed, "you'll be in charge of decorating part of the left wing. You see, last year we added five bedrooms, five bathrooms, and a small lounge to the ladies' wing of the house. But the added rooms still have not been decorated! So… You have a week to make them look presentable."

Sakura stared at Meilin in disbelief. "That's eleven rooms!" she screamed _'And judging by the size of the castle, I'm sure they won't be small rooms, either…'_

"Yes…" said Meilin "And you'll have to paint, furnish, and accessorize every one of them! Oh! Without any paid help, too…"

Sakura thought she would cry. _'How am I supposed to do all that without any help!'_

Judging by the looks on the other inductees' faces, Sakura wasn't the only one with that thought running through her head. All eight of them were now standing, looking quite forlorn. Meilin, noticing the bummed out group before her, tried to cheer them up

"Don't worry you guys! Just make sure to give your task the best you can do! Think about this – the harder the task, the greater the reward. If you'll complete your job, you'll receive a pleasant surprise after the week is done. That's just how we do it around here… No good work goes by unrewarded!"

Hearing about a reward DID seem to lift the spirits of the inductees. All of the sudden, there was hope – there was light at the end of the tunnel! Seeing that she managed to calm the newbies down a bit, Meilin turned to face the returning members of the society.

"As the rest of you can see, our inductees will be busy working on the castle grounds and interior. Therefore, I think you will all agree that it will be better to leave the castle and give them as much space to work with as possible."

The crowd cheered in agreement. "Good," smiled Meilin, "In that case I will be happy to announce that all of you WILL be leaving the castle for the entire week. When you go into your private rooms, you will find an envelope on your bed. This envelope includes your task and destination for the week. That's it! Good luck!"

Immediately after the end of the gathering was pronounced over, the room flooded with noise. Many returning members ran straight towards their bedrooms to find their task, and some remained to talk with the inductees. Tomoyo, of course, made her way straight towards Sakura.

"WAI! You get to decorate the new wing! How exciting! You lucky, lucky gal!" Tomoyo hugged Sakura, "You're gonna have so much fun!"

Sakura, however, did not seem to be of the same opinion as her friend. She gave Tomoyo a weak smile, "Yeah… Fun… If you don't take into account the fact that I'll have to do a job for a dozen of men, by myself, in 7 days!"

"Six days," happily corrected Tomoyo, "You have to be done by day seven." Sakura only lowered her head in defeat.

"Tomoyo, this is NOT the task for me! I know nothing about decorating!"

"Oh, don't be silly! Just make sure every room has a theme. Be creative – that'll please Meilin." Sakura nodded when all of the sudden…

"Someone say my name!" Meilin piped as she appeared right behind Sakura. Startled, Sakura jumped and gave out a loud shriek.

Meilin laughed, "Sorry! Didn't mean to sneak up on ya!" Sakura smiled, "That's alright." Somehow Meilin's loud and outgoing nature really put Sakura at ease. In some weird way, Meilin reminded her of Tomoyo. _'Both of them are so cheerful… and hyper!'_

"Oh, we were just talking about the task you assigned to Sakura. I must say, I think it's wonderful! There is just one thing that I don't like about it…." said Tomoyo in a sad voice.

"And what's that?" asked Meilin. Tomoyo's eyes became watery with tears, "I won't be here to film and take pictures of Sakura as she does her task!" she cried in utter desolation.

Sakura sighed at her friend's dramatic dilemma. _'Leave it to Tomoyo to think of picture opportunities at a time like this…'_

"Pfft! If that's all you're worried about, there IS no problem! I guess I forgot to mention it, but the Royal Court will still be staying in the castle – you know, to make sure the inductees do their work and don't cheat by hiring someone to do the work for them. I'll be more than happy to take pictures of Sakura for you!" Meilin beamed.

Immediately, Tomoyo's eyes were willed with stars instead of tears. "THANK YOU! You're the best!" Sakura sighed, _'They're two of a kind…'_

But then Sakura's mind traveled to yet another problem. "Wait! How am I supposed to pay for it all!"

Meilin laughed at Sakura's predicament, "With money from the society's account, of course!" Sakura only blinked at her. "We have an account with enough money in it for everyone in the society to have a card and access the funds. Whatever you will need to get for this task, will be bought with that, so chill!"

Sakura let out a sigh of relief. "Great. And we're not allowed to use ANY outside help?"

Meilin nodded, but added "Well… Not any PAID outside help. If you happen to have friends that are willing to help you out, we won't stop ya."

"Well… Since you're sending everyone except for the Royal Court away, there go MY chances of getting help." said Sakura.

"That's true. I doubt that anyone from the Royals would be willing to help you, considering your treatment of their King," said a masculine voice behind Sakura, startling her yet another time.

Sakura turned around only to find two gorgeous amber eyes staring into her own. She gulped at his sight. His presence was masculine, elegant, and extremely powerful. His entire being seemed to radiate stature. Sakura mentally cursed herself, _'Great. As if my task couldn't get harder. Now I've got the King himself going against me.'_

"Cat got your tongue?" Syaoran smirked. He found that he liked seeing Sakura squirm. He could tell from looking into her eyes that she was worried – scared even - about what he might do to her. Though he didn't like knowing that she was afraid of him, he liked watching her expressions. '_Perhaps she does have some sense in her. At least it seems as if she knows when to be afraid…'_ he thought rather cockily.

Hearing his comment made Sakura huff. _'Is he enjoying this?'_

"Aww, come now Li. Let the poor girl be…" slowly said a man, coming out from behind Syaoran. "My name is Sirota Tsu," he took Sakura's hand in his own and gave it a light kiss, "the Clubs' Royal Ambassador to China. And I would be more than willing to assist you in anything."

'_Ambassador?'_ Sakura looked at the pin that Sirota was wearing. It was gold – _'So he IS a Royal'_ – and yet instead of a number or a letter, a small spade was engraved into it. Collecting her thoughts, she did a slight curtsy and quickly pulled her hand out of his grip. '_These Royals seem to think they have all the rights.'_

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Tsu," said Sakura frankly. "Oh, please – call me Sirota," said the man in the same slow voice. His maroon eyes were watching her every move, and Sakura quickly started feeling self-conscious. _'What's with this guy?'_

Narrowing his eyes into small slits, Syaoran watched Sirota try and make an impression on Sakura by attempting to get into her good graces. The kiss on the hand didn't help, either. Syaoran glared at Sirota. He did not like his frankness with Sakura at all. _'It's not like I like the girl or anything,'_ he tried to reason with himself, _'It's just that a Royal should keep up a certain form of address!' _

Syaoran loudly cleared his throat, making everyone in the group look at him. Noticing his glare, Sirota took a step away from Sakura, but not before slyly saying, "I'm sure I'll be seeing you around, Miss Sakura."

Syaoran's eyes narrowed even more, and Sakura only gave Sirota an uneasy smile. _'What a creep,' _she thought.

Quietly watching the scene, Meilin and Tomoyo exchanged mischievous glances and nodded to each other in unspoken understanding. '_Syaoran has a thing for Sakura'_ they thought simultaneously.

Having the group's attention, Syaoran began to speak. "I suggest that all of you now retire. You, Tomoyo, have a trip to make in the morning. And you," he turned to look at Sakura, "are to begin working on your task. So get to bed – you'll need the rest."

Though his voice sounded cold, Meilin – who has known her cousin since they were in diapers – could tell that Syaoran was actually fighting emotions that seemed about to burst through. _'He must either really hate Sirota, or he must really feel something for Sakura…_' she thought. She smiled at the latter part of her thought. _'It would be too perfect. Sakura is giggly and bubbly – the perfect match for my beast of a cousin. Who knows, she might even make him become more human.'_

Sakura nodded at Li, not finding any courage to open her mouth. _'Though I still don't like his attitude, he's probably right,_' she though, _'My task isn't an easy one – I should get as much sleep as possible._'

She turned towards Tomoyo, "Umm… Where am I to sleep?" Tomoyo immediately grabbed her hand and beamed. "In my room, for now. You'll get your room later! OH! We'll have so much fun! SLEEP OVER TIME!"

Sakura sighed, _'So much for me getting any sleep…'_

They quickly said their goodnights to the Royals before them and Sakura was then whisked away by Tomoyo.

Sakura's first day in the society was now nearing its end. She survived it. But will she survive the next week – with no Tomoyo around? These were the thoughts running through Sakura's mind. However – unknowingly to Sakura - someone WOULD be looking after her in Tomoyo's absence. But looking after someone does not always come in a good way…

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	6. Ch5 Midnight Gossip

Hey guys! Told ya I would update a lot this weekend.  
I want to once again thank all of the reviewers! You guys have some pretty spiffy ideas. I might think about using some of them.  
Well... Here goes!

DISCLAIMER: Me no own CCS... sigh

**

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Previously on Queen of Clubs: **

Sakura's first day the society was now nearing its end. She survived it. But will she survive the next week – with no Tomoyo around? These were the thoughts running through Sakura's mind. However – unknowingly to Sakura - someone WOULD be looking after her in Tomoyo's absence. But looking after someone does not always come in a good way…

**

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Chapter 5 – Midnight Gossip **

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Before Tomoyo would allow Sakura any rest, she gave Sakura a quick tour of the castle's grounds. 

"Since I won't be here after tomorrow, I want to make sure you at least know where to go to sleep, eat, and take showers. I wouldn't want you to aimlessly walk around the property. And believe me: it is very easy to get lost around here if you don't know your way around."

Tomoyo made sure to show Sakura the kitchen, the bedrooms of her Tomoeda friends and the new inductees, the bathrooms, and of course the rooms that Sakura would need to decorate. The tour, to Sakura's relief, ended up to be pretty short and consisted only of two out of the five levels of the mansion.

"The two bottom floors are bedrooms and common areas for the Number Cards – or people like you and me. The third level is just a bunch of recreational rooms – library, computer room, small gym…" Tomoyo explained.

"Gym! There's a gym in this place?" Sakura could not believe it. _'This place really does have everything.'_

"Yup," chirped Tomoyo, "The Third level, however we usually do not get to see. The third level of the castle belongs to the Royal Court. The only way for a Numbercard to enter it is through invitation." Sakura nodded in understanding.

"And the fourth level belongs entirely to The Ace," smiled Tomoyo, thereby finishing her explanation of the grounds and heading for her own room.

Tomoyo's room was, of course, in the left wing of the house – the Ladies' Wing. It was a decently sized room, with lavender colored walls and a gorgeous canopy bed in the middle. Although Tomoyo first said that they were to stay in her room, Tomoyo decided they should actually spend the night in the lounge of the newly-added wing that Sakura was to decorate.

"WHY are we spending the night in that wing?" Sakura said with confusion plastered all over her face. The rooms in that part of the mansion were stark-white and unfurnished – without the least bit of comfort in them.

"Because! That way you can look at what you'll have to deal with. Plus, my room is too small for a slumber party, and for your first night here, I wanted our entire Tomoeda group to spend the night together! The lounge of that wing will be perfect for a little sleep over!" beamed Tomoyo.

"Well… I COULD use some pointers on decorating... And I'd love to spend some time with my pals before you get shipped off in the morning," laughed Sakura. Tomoyo only nodded and started to go through her closet. A few minutes later she emerged with an enormous suitcase.

"Gotta pack for tomorrow," she said and began to take out clothes, fold them, and put them into her travel case.

'_Packing… Ah! That reminds me!'_ Sakura quickly turned to her friend, "Tomoyo, where are my things?"

Tomoyo gave Sakura an evil smirk, "They're in storage and you're not getting them back until you complete the first task. I want to make sure you won't take off before you get your furniture. Besides, you won't get your room until next week, either – so there wouldn't be any place to put your stuff anyways!"

Sakura glared at Tomoyo, _'That conniving little fiend – to hold my stuff for ransom!_' "But what am I supposed to wear!"

"Stuff that I made especially for you!" beamed Tomoyo and pulled out a pretty pink dress out of her closet. "I've been making dresses, and skirts, and shirts for you for the past three months! I thought to myself – It's Sakura's big debut in The Deck, so she MUST wear special clothes! – and so I made a bunch. I'm glad Meilin agreed to take pictures for me, I'd simply DIE if I'd miss the entire first week."

Sakura stared at her friend in disbelief. Ever since Tomoyo learned how to sew, she's been taking every opportunity at making clothes for Sakura. '_Some things never change…'_ she thought.

"By the way… What's YOUR task for the week?" Sakura saw Tomoyo open her envelope earlier, but didn't get the chance to ask her about it.

Tomoyo blushed at the question. "I – uhhh – I'm going to London for 6 days to… To help our English Ambassador with some presentations…" Sakura blinked at her friend.

"Who ARE these ambassadors, anyway?" Tomoyo replied, "They're the non-face cards of the Royal Court. You see, The Deck consists of four suits, right?" Sakura nodded as Tomoyo continued explaining, "Well… Japan's part of The Deck represents the suit of Clubs. The headquarters in China represent Spades. England represents Hearts… And America stands for the suit of Diamonds. While the different parts of the society mostly keep to themselves, it's still important for them to interact incase problems arise. So that's why every Suit has ambassadors – they're sort of like the representatives of the other suites."

"I see…" said Sakura. _'That also explains Sirota Tsu's spade on his pin.'_

After finishing her packing, Tomoyo got out two sleeping bags and handed one to Sakura. "Let's go! I'm sure the others are already waiting."

Naturally, Tomoyo turned out to be right. When they arrived in the newly added wing, Sakura could hear voices coming from the lounge. They opened the door and found Rika, Chiharu, and Naoko lying in sleeping bags in the middle of the room. They had a few candles surrounding them, giving the room enough soft light to see each of the girls.

"You finally made it!" cheered Chiharu, "Come on in and get comfy!" Tomoyo and Sakura immediately followed Chiharu's advice and laid out their sleeping bags. After all of the girls were comfortably settled they began to chat and giggle just like they used to in their old days.

"So are you and Terada-sensei still together, Rika?" asked Sakura. She knew that her friend has been seeing their former elementary school teacher for a few years now. Rika blushed a bright red and nodded in affirmation, making the rest of the girls giggle loudly.

"And what about you Chiharu? Are you still with Yamazaki?" Being girls, the five friends loved to talk about boys and relationships.

Chiharu sighed, "Yeah we're still together…" All of the girls except for Sakura laughed. "What's so funny about that?" asked Sakura, not seeing anything wrong about the fact that Chiharu and her boyfriend Yamazaki are still together.

"Oh, you just have to see them together," laughed Tomoyo, "Ever since Yamazaki got the position of The Joker, he's being basically given a JOB to go around and tell his outrageous lies. You must remember how it used to drive Chiharu nuts!"

"Yup. And now he has a 'legitimate' excuse for ding it," sighed Chiharu, lowering her head.

"Aww! But it IS a legitimate excuse!" boomed a voice from across the room, startling all five of the girls.

"YAMAZAKI!" bellowed Chiharu, who then ran over to him and started to playfully strangle poor Yamazaki by the neck. "If you ever scare us like that again, I swear to God you will never see daylight again!"

Yamazaki only continued to laugh, making the rest of the group snigger at the scene.

"Wow," said Sakura, "I didn't know that Yamazaki was in the society as well! Our old Tomoeda group really IS back together!"

Chiharu stopped trying to strangle her boyfriend and went back to her sleeping bag, "Yeah… And I guess that me killing off one of the group would not help it." Everyone laughed at Chiharu's cute attempt at appearing tough.

Yamazaki walked over to the girls and sat down next to Chiharu. "So what will you girls be talking about now? OH! Will you be telling ghost stories?"

"Ghost stories!" cheered Naoko, "What a great idea!"

"NOOOOOOO! No ghost stories!" Yelled Sakura, making everyone look at her with a confused look on their faces.

"Oh that's right," said Yamazaki, "Kinomoto is scared of ghost stories, right?" Sakura only violently shook her head in agreement.

"Let's just talk about something pleasant, you guys! OH! Better yet, you can explain something to me!"

"What's that?" the group chorused. "Well…" said Sakura with a pensive face, "When Li announced our assignment, he said that it was to come from the highest ranking female of the society – Meilin. But Meilin is only The Page. Shouldn't The Queen be the highest ranking female?"

"Oooohhh. Sakura has picked a great topic for gossip!" smiled Chiharu. Yamazaki nodded his head and continued Chiharu's thought, "That's true. This topic is nothing short of amusing – even for me."

Sakura blinked at them with confusion, "Hoee?"

"You see," Yamazaki began to explain, "Syaoran Li comes from a very wealthy clan in China."

"Ok…" said Sakura, still not getting the absence of a queen.

"Well. Since Li is the only boy in the family, he is destined to inherit his family's wealth and business. However, before his family will be completely comfortable with him running the family business, they want him to find a bride…"

"WHAT!" hollered Sakura.

"…or at least a steady girlfriend," laughed Yamazaki. "They want to make sure that he can stay committed to something. You see, Li has had many flings in his time, but he has never had a serious girlfriend. His lack of commitment worries his clan. Therefore, they want him to prove that he can stay committed to something or someone before they give up the family business to him."

"Weird… But it makes sense," Sakura nodded her head, "But that still doesn't explain the lack of The Queen."

"And that's where The Ace comes in" happily smiled Yamazaki.

"The Ace?" questioned Sakura. _'This story is getting weirder and more complicated by the minute_.'

"Yup!" piped in Chiharu, "The Ace also happens to be Li's uncle."

"Ohh..." said Sakura in mock understanding.

"That's right," continued Yamazaki, "His uncle was appointed by the Li clan to help get Syaoran a partner – or basically a girlfriend."

Sakura could not help but laugh at that. _'The mighty Li Syaoran being helped with his love life!'_

Yamazaki calmly continued his tale, "So every year The Ace would appoint a girl to be The Queen of Clubs, in hopes of Li taking a liking to her. But every time Li absolutely refused to even be civil to the girl. By the end of each year, the girl would be begging to leave the society."

Sakura stared at Yamazaki in disbelief, "Is he really that bad?"

Yamazaki laughed, "Not really. But he can be very stubborn. And since he had his mind set on not getting with any girl that his uncle tried to set him up with, the girls really had no chance to begin with."

"That's true," said Rika, "But did all that change a couple of years ago?"

Yamazaki nodded, "Yup. Li's uncle grew tired of trying to hook Syaoran up with girls, that he told Syaoran that from then on he'd have choose The Queen himself. That was over two years ago. Needless to say, the society has not seen a Queen since then."

"Man… What does Li have against girls?" asked Sakura. "Haven't any of the girls that he was set up with been any good?"

"Many of them were quite wonderful," said Yamazaki gaining a glare from Chiharu, "But Li is kind of arrogant… and untrusting… and demanding… and stubborn. It isn't easy to make him like you. For example, there are only four people in the entire society that are allowed to call him by his first name."

Sakura's eyes widened in horror, "Only four!"

"Yup! The Ace, Meilin, Eriol, and myself. He likes to keep his group of friends small."

"I guess so…" muttered Sakura. _'Li must be really tough to get along with… What and odd person.'_

After that the girls continued talking about different things – their initiation tasks, ghost stories, Sakura's fear of ghost stories, the upcoming school semester, and so on… Eventually the group became tired and after forcibly kicking out Yamazaki, the girls blew out the candles and went to sleep.

Yet Sakura, though exhausted from the day's excitement, found it difficult to fall asleep. A certain amber-eyed boy kept occupying her thoughts. _'I wonder why Li has so much trouble being friendly? His cousin Meilin seems to be quite outgoing, so why is he so selective in his friends?'_

'_Bah!' _Sakura tried to shake Syaoran out of her head, _'I shouldn't be thinking about that cad! He's rude and arrogant – it's really no wonder he only has four friends in the society. And yet…' _Sakura's eyes softened as she thought about Li's cold exterior. '_I wonder what could make a person be so untrusting...'_

Trying to set her mind at ease, Sakura decided to simply be more careful around the egotistical King. _'It will do me no good to keep fighting with him. Arrogant or not – he IS The King. And who knows? – He might just forget about little ol' me…'_ Reassuring herself of Li's complete lack of interest in herself, Sakura drifted off to sleep. Yet her thoughts turned out to be just the opposite of reality, for as Sakura went to bed thinking of the bigheaded King, Syaoran tossed and turned in his own bed, trying his best to NOT think about the emerald-eyed inductee.

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	7. Ch6 Brainstorming Blues

Hey guys! Another update! Told ya I'd do it a lot! Thanks for the reviews! Me happy! They make me work really hard on this. I hope you guys will enjoy the story!  
Disclaimer: CCS is not mine... Too bad... BUT! The story line is! YAY!**  
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Previously on Queen of Clubs: **

Reassuring herself of Li's complete lack of interest in herself, Sakura drifted off to sleep. Yet her thoughts turned out to be just the opposite of reality, for as Sakura went to bed thinking of the bigheaded King, Syaoran tossed and turned in his own bed, trying his best to NOT think about the emerald-eyed inductee.

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Chapter 6 – Brainstorming Blues **

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When Sakura awoke the next morning, she found that all of her friends were already awake and packing up their sleeping bags. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Sakura got up and greeted her friends, "Morning!" 

"Good morning, Sakura!" they chorused.

"Sorry if we woke you up, but all of us have early flights… And it's already 7 o'clock! " said Rika.

Sakura merely mumbled out a "That's alright" and began to gather her own things.

After packing up their belongings, the girls separated to take showers and get dresses, later on meeting for a quick breakfast. By that time, the kitchen was already filled with people trying to get some food into their stomachs before embarking on their trips. After eating, Rika, Chiharu, and Tomoyo left to go to their rooms to get their baggage. When the three girls arrived at the front entrance of the caste, they found very dejected looking Naoko and Sakura waiting for them by the door. Both of the new inductees had to fight back tears at seeing their friends leave – even if it was just for a few days.

"W-we'll miss you guys," stammered Sakura, tears filling her bright green eyes.

"AWWW!" was heard coming from every other girl and the friends shared a tight group hug.

After saying their goodbyes, Rika, Tomoyo, and Chiharu got into a cab that was waiting to take them to the airport and disappeared. Naoko and Sakura stood at the front entrance and watched their friends drive away. Periodically, Naoko had to stroke Sakura's back to comfort her and keep her from crying.

"Aww… Is little Ms. Kinomoto scared without her friends to keep her out of harm's way?" said a mocking male voice behind the two friends.

Sakura whirled around only to find herself face to face with a leering Syaoran Li. Instead of sadness, her eyes immediately filled with anger. _'How can a person simply take advantage of another's misery only to mock them?' _she thought, throwing Syaoran a glare. Yet deciding not to repeat the purse incident of the day before, Sakura took a deep breath and turned to Naoko.

"I believe it would be best for us to start working on our tasks. We only have six days to finish them, so we better start right away."

Naoko, sensing the tension between her friend and The King, nodded and started walking away. "Alright, Sakura. I'll see you at lunch?"

"Sure!" said Sakura and was about to start walking away herself when a strong hand tightly grasped Sakura by the arm.

"You know," said Syaoran in a dangerously low voice, "it isn't polite to ignore someone. Especially if that someone holds a lot of power over this society."

His tone was cold and overconfident. Sakura looked him straight in the eyes and said, "I also know that it isn't polite to mock people of their unhappiness." At that she forcibly yanked her arm out of Syaoran's grasp and turned to walk away.

Syaoran watched Sakura's retreating form, thinking about what she had just said. _'This girl is always trying to point out the wrongs in my actions._' A smirk appeared on his thin lips. '_It's too bad she doesn't know that I always get the last word.' _

As he watched Sakura make her way to the left wing of the mansion, Li noticed that Sirota was also watching her from across the room. Syaoran's eyebrows furrowed, forming a deep crease in the middle of his forehead. _'Is he staring at her again?'_ His eyebrows furrowed even more as he saw Sirota move after Sakura and Syaoran found himself unable to keep down an unpleasant growl.

Sirota watched Sakura walk across the floor of the front hall. "There she is – my beauty…" he whispered as his maroon eyes engulfed her form.

Sakura was wearing an outfit that was, of course, one of Tomoyo's creations: form-fitting white pants and a light pink top that was adorned with white and pink rhinestones. Her amber-brown hair was neatly brushed and pinned at one side with a pink, flower-shaped hairclip. To Sirota, she looked like freshly-opened spring blossom, just waiting to be picked by him.

"Gorgeous…" whispered out Sirota and, moving some of his jet-black hair from his eyes, he made his way after Sakura.

On her way to the new wing, Sakura stopped by Tomoyo's room and picked up a notebook and a pen for jotting down some decorating ideas. When she arrived at her final destination, she began to brainstorm for theme ideas for the new wing.

"Tomoyo said to make every room different, But I also want to have a theme to tie all of the rooms together." She walked from room to room, trying to imagine different shades and themes for the rooms.

She ended her walking tour the lounge of the new wing, sat down on the bare wooden floor, and sighed in desperation.Suddenly, an unpleasant chill ran through her spine, making Sakura involuntarily straighten her back.

"Having some trouble, my dear Cherry Blossom?" said a silky voice behind her. Sakura turned her head and found Sirota leaning on a wall near the doorway. His eyes were intently watching her face, and Sakura began to once again feel uncomfortable.

"Umm… A little. I'm having problems deciding on the central idea to tie the room together."

Sirota strolled across the room and kneeled in front of Sakura, making her move her body slightly away from his direction.

"Would you like me to help you?" Sirota said, inching closer to close the gap Sakura formed between them by moving away.

"Umm…" Sakura was able to mutter out before…

"I don't think that would be a good idea, Sirota. After all, the inductees are supposed to do their assignment with no help but their own friends'," Syaoran's voice boomed across the room, making both Sirota and Sakura flinch.   
Sakura looked at Syaoran and, although she noticed that at that moment Li looked more brooding than usual, she threw him a thankful look. Sirota, on the other hand, threw Syaoran an icy glare.

"Ah, but what is a better way to become friends than by spending time together, right Ms. Sakura?" Sirota's eyes bore into Sakura and she found herself feeling even more uncomfortable.

"Ummmm….."

"Just let her do her own work. If she can't complete this simple task, she has no place in The Deck.

_'OK,_' thought Sakura, _'I'm grateful that he's saving me from this creep and all, but he doesn't have to be so harsh!' _

Sirota's eyes narrowed into tiny slits as he looked upon Syaoran's emotionless face. "Perhaps you're right," he bit out through clenched teeth, but turning back to Sakura, he changed his voice to a once again silky tone. "But if you ever need my help, my dearest Sakura, you can be assured I will be there to lend you a hand." He then gently took one of Sakura's hands into his own, lifted it to his lips, and gave it a lingering kiss.

Syaoran watched the scene with pure rage roaring in his amber eyes. _'She won't let me say a word to her without it blowing up in my face, yet she'll let him take such advantage of her!'_

"Umm…" muttered Sakura as Sirota got up and left the room, giving Syaoran one last glare as he passed him by.

After Sirota exited the lounge, a deadly silence filled the room. Sakura wondered if she should thank Li for saving her from creepy ambassador's advancements, but before she could even think of how to begin, Syaoran broke her thoughts.

"You need to learn how to say 'NO'." His amber eyes were staring at her startled face. "You seem to have no trouble being defiant with me, so why do you let others push themselves on you? If you don't want his help, simply say 'No'…"

Sakura blinked at his serious face. '_Is he… worried about me?' _

Syaoran turned to walk away but stopped as he heard Sakura's soft voice call out a small "Thank you." He glanced back at her and saw her giving him a grateful smile. He felt something deep within his chest contract, making it difficult for him to breathe. Scared at his body's reaction to Sakura's smile, Syaoran quickly turned and walked out of the room, leaving Sakura to her thoughts.

_'Perhaps his majesty Syaoran Li really isn't as bad as I thought he was…'_ Sakura smiled to herself.

Getting her mind back to her task, Sakura once again began to brainstorm for theme ideas. While thinking, Sakura's eyes shifted to the large window that adorned the lounge's walls. Looking through the glass, Sakura saw the beautiful gardens that surrounded that part of Clubs Castle.

The green grass peacefully glowed in the April sunlight, giving off a warm aura to the flowers that bordered the lawn. Beautiful roses – in shads of red, pink, and white - adorned the walls and hedges of the castle. Brightly colored lilies, peonies, and violets grew in thick flowerbeds right outside the huge window.

Sakura took in the natural beauty of the landscape and smiled. She noticed that Takahiro – the inductee in charge of the castle's gardens – faithfully attended to his task, watering the variety of flowers that grew by the window.

'_Flowers,'_ though Sakura, "Of course! Flowers! The theme will be flowers!" Smiling brightly, she picked up her pen and jotted down a few ideas into her notebook before quickly running to find Meilin.

"I need that money card from Meilin t go to the store and buy paint to start coloring the rooms." Sakura sighed happily, "The worst part is over! Now all I have to do is follow through with my ideas!"

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	8. Ch 7 Crash!

Hey guys! Another chapter! One of you mentioned that the chapters were too short... This one is little bit longer. I'll think about making all chapter longer, if you would really like it... I just didn't want to overwhelm anyone with too much stuff. I can get pretty carried away - I didn't want to bore anyone.

Anyhow! Enjoy this chapter! And don't forget to review! I really enjoy reading everyone's comments.

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Previously of Queen of Clubs: **

'_Flowers,'_ though Sakura, "Of course! Flowers! The theme will be flowers!" Smiling brightly, she picked up her pen and jotted down a few ideas into her notebook before quickly running to find Meilin.

"I need that money card from Meilin t go to the store and buy paint to start coloring the rooms." Sakura sighed happily, "The worst part is over! Now all I have to do is follow through with my ideas!"

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Chapter 7 – Crash!**

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After Sakura figured out a theme for the new wing, she got a credit card from Meilin, who then also offered up her personal errand boy Seiriu to accompany her. Seiriu, with his overly-friendly personality, was more than eager to help Sakura with paint shopping. So after getting a nice little BMW from Tori – who was in charge of all cars for that week – Sakura and Seiriu went to a store and bought the best paint they could find. 

After finally getting all colors that she needed and returning home, Sakura changed into less fancy clothes – some plain jeans and a t-shirt – and began painting the rooms.

Unfortunately for Sakura, painting the rooms turned out to be a more difficult and a more time-consuming task than she originally thought it to be. Only at the end of the fourth day was Sakura finished with paining the last room.

"Phew! Done!" said Sakura, putting down her paintbrush. She proudly looked upon her work. The first bed and bathroom set was painted in a soft green; the second set of rooms was done is a beautiful shade of peach; the next bath and bedroom were colored in a calming lavender; the fourth set of bed and bathrooms was painted in alight red; and the last set of rooms was done in a powdery pink. The lounge of the wing Sakura decided to paint a nice shade of gold to go along with the elegance of the rest of the mansion.

Tired after many hours of work, Sakura decided to grab something to eat. She glanced at her watch and screamed, "Eleven o'clock at night!" Her eyes saddened, "That probably means that Naoko is already in bed…"

Yet she still decided to go to the kitchen and get herself a snack. Alone or not alone - a girl has got to eat!

As Sakura was walking through the house on her way to the kitchen, she began to feel as if she was being watched. A creepy chill ran through her body and she quickened her pace. When she heard some footsteps behind her, however, Sakura broke into a run and made her way to the light of the kitchen door.

By the time Sakura actually made it into the kitchen, she was deathly pale and out of breath. Stepping into the comforting light of the room, Sakura closed her eyes and took in a deep breath of relief.

Opening her eyes, she found that despite the late hour, three people were still in the kitchen: Meilin, Seiriu, and the one and only Syaoran Li. They were all sitting at the table, each enjoying a warm cup of tea. When they saw Sakura run into the kitchen, they threw her a concerned look. Well, Meilin and Seiriu threw Sakura a worried look; Syaoran merely threw Sakura on weird glance.

"Is everything alright, Sakura?" asked Meilin. Sakura let out a nervous laugh.

"Y-yes. I'm alright… It's just that on my way here, I got this creepy feeling – as if I was being watched. And I could have sworn I heard footsteps behind me! That just really scared me… I don't know how I'm going to make it back to my room…" she said, fearful tears filling her eyes.

Syaoran's eyes narrowed as he continued to silently drink his tea. Meilin only gave Sakura a sympathetic smile while adding, "That's odd… Say Syaoran, didn't Sirota just leave to go and check up on Sakura?" Syaoran grunted, furrowing his eyebrows.

The mention of Sirota made Sakura wrinkle her nose in disapproval. For the past few days it seemed to her that Sirota hardly left her side - always "checking up" on Sakura's work, always asking her if she needed any help. It seemed as if whenever Sakura happened to be by herself for more than 10 minutes, Sirota would show up and begin his usual staring. Sakura began to feel like that creepy ambassador was purposely attempting to get her alone. Numerous times Sirota would get close to Sakura – too close for her own comfort. Luckily, every time Sirota would try to advance even further, he would be interrupted by Meilin, Naoko, or an always grave-looking Syaoran.

"Come to think of it, you're right…" drew out Seiriu, "You didn't run into him, Sakura?" Sakura shook her head and walked over to the fridge to get herself a snack.

Syaoran watched Sakura from where he sat, his amber eyes closely following her movements as she rummaged through the fridge and took out a sandwich. _'Sirota must have been following Sakura on her way here… He just won't leave her alone, will he?'_

Despite his best attempts to keep Sirota busy with all sorts of work, Syaoran seemed to simply not be able to get Sirota away from the green-eyed inductee. Not knowing himself why, Syaoran did not like the idea of Sirota hanging around Sakura that much. _'The last thing I needed is me having to worry about a silly little girl's comfort,'_ he once again scolded himself.

Grabbing a sandwich and closing the fridge, Sakura turned to sit at the table but noticed The King looking at her with dark eyes. She blinked at him with a lost expression. _'Is there something on my face?'_

Yet Syaoran quickly turned his gaze away from Sakura and once again concentrated on his cup of tea.

"So are you finished painting the rooms, Sakura?" asked Seiriu as Sakura took her seat beside him.

"Yup! Tomorrow I'll be going shopping again. This time I'll need to buy furniture, linens, and accessories for the rooms."

"Wow. Seems like you'll have your work cut out for tomorrow…" said Meilin with a smile. "Do you think you'll need any help?" she pointed towards Seiriu.

Sakura feverishly nodded her head. "Great! I'd love to come along with you!" chirped Seiriu. I helped you with buying the paint, so why not go this time? Will that be alright Meilin?" he asked, turning to The Page with big puppy eyes.

Meilin laughed at Seiriu's expression and said, "Sure. Just be sure to be back by five – I'll need you to do some filing for me."

Sakura smiled happily, "Thank you SO much!"

"It's entirely my pleasure," beamed Seiriu, but before he could further express his excitement he was stopped by Syaoran's icy death glare. Seiriu blinked at Syaoran, _'What did I do now?'_

Meilin, noticing the looks that her cousin was throwing at Seiriu, gave out a knowing laugh and patted Seiriu on the back. "Come on... There's something that I still need you to finish for me before we can call it a night." Seiriu nodded and followed Meilin out of the kitchen, more than glad to get away from Li's threatening frown.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning? How about 7 o'clock - at the front door?" he asked before completely disappearing from the room.

"Sure! See you at seven!" waved Sakura, going back to eating her sandwich. She quietly munched on her meal as Li continued to slowly sip his tea. Although they were the only two people in the room, neither uttered a sound to the other.

After a few minutes Sakura noticed that Syaoran had already finished his beverage and was now simply sitting at the table, looking out into space with a slight frown adorning his otherwise perfect forehead.

"Are you waiting for someone, Li?" Sakura asked timidly, afraid of angering him for breaking the silence.

His amber eyes quickly shifted to her face. "Waiting for you to finish your food," he said in a sharp tone and looked away.

"Hoee…?" Sakura blinked at him.

Li let out a heavy sigh, "You said that you were scared to walk back by yourself. I need to stop by the left wing tonight – to see if the other inductees are working on their tasks, so…" His cold voice trailed off as Li found it hard for him to say that he wanted to walk her to her room.

'_Jeez! What is it about this girl?_' he thought angrily.

He coughed to clear his throat and barked in his usual icy manner, "So hurry up and finish your sandwich before I leave! I don't have all night to sit here! Unlike you, I actually have important business to take care of." He stood up from his seat and put his tea cup in the sink.

Hearing that Li would walk her to her room made Sakura's heart soar. _'He might be a jerk, but it's better than walking alone and risking bumping into Sirota!' _She quickly stuffed the rest of her sandwich into her mouth, nearly chocking on it, and then put away her plate.

"Thank you so much for waiting for me, Li!" she smiled at him as they began walking through the halls of the mansion. Syaoran only grunted in reply.

'_Stupid girl. She's probably still scared of the dark. I wouldn't be surprised if she only imagined the footsteps. And yet… Sirota has been hanging around her a lot… I wonder if it was him who was lurking behind her.' _Syaoran shifted his eyes from one side of the hall to the next, trying to see if anyone else was in the room. _'Empty…_'

Walking through the dark halls of the house once again made Sakura feel very uncomfortable. She quickened her pace and unknowingly moved her body closer to Syaoran's. Noticing that Sakura was scared made Li smirk. _'She IS scared!'_ Thinking of how he can best take advantage of the situation, Syaoran slowed down his pace and let Sakura walk in front of him.

Sakura turned her head and noticed that Syaoran was no longer by her side. She stopped dead in her tracks. "L-li?" she said in a trembling voice.

She felt her body tense up in fear and found it hard to breathe. When she was about to call out The King's name once more, she felt a strong hand touch her shoulder.

"Boo," said a low voice right by her ear.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Sakura screamed and shut her eyes in terror. She had her heart set on running away but felt a set of muscular arms wrap around her body to prevent her from escaping.

Sakura could feel her heart beating wildly in her chest and knew that any moment tears would start falling from her eyes. "Please, let me go!" she cried and shut her eyes even more tightly.

Yet the reply she got was unlike any that she was expecting. The grasp around her loosened and she heard Syaoran's laughter right in front of her face. She slowly opened up one of her eyes and found an amuse Syaoran looking at her scared face.

"YOU!" she bit out and attempted to break free of his hold. "How could you! You scared the living daylights out of me!" Her soft hands pushed against Syaoran's well-built chest to try and push him away.

Yet Syaoran only kept laughing. "You should have seen your face! God, who would have knows that you're such a scaredy cat!" His amber eyes glimmered with genuine mirth as he observed Sakura's pathetic attempts at breaking free.

"I am NOT a scaredy cat, you insensitive jerk! I just don't like it when people sneak up on me!" Sakura yelled in response, trying her best to get away from Li's firm grip on her body.

Feeling Li's body so close to her own made Sakura's chest fill with a strange, warm feeling. She looked up to see his face and mentally gasped. His normally handsome face looked absolutely gorgeous when it was adorned with a smile. Suddenly she became painfully aware of her palms pushing into Syaoran's muscular torso. She noticed that even through the fabric of his forest-green shirt, she could feel the radiating heat of his body. Being so close to him allowed her to sense a faint aroma of sandalwood coming from his clothes. His warmth and alluring aroma began to make her feel relaxed, but luckily she was able to control herself and pushed harder in attempt to bring herself out of the range of his sensual scent.

Li noticed that the feisty girl he was holding in his arms hesitated for a split second before she began to pry herself away from him even more. Catching her indecision caused something within him leap. He was taken aback when he realized that 'something' was HOPE. _'D-do I really hope she likes being close to me?'_ he asked himself, curiously looking at the struggling Sakura. He tightened his grip on her to prevent her from escaping, admitting to himself that he liked their proximity.

Feeling Li's grasp tighten around her made a faint blush appear on Sakura's cheeks. However, before anything else could have happened, the two of them heard heavy running footsteps echo down the hall. In a few moments a very concerned Meilin ran towards them.

"Is everything alright? I just heard Sakura's scream what happe-" her sentence was cut short as the scene before her eyes hit her in realization. A blushing Sakura was desperately trying to push herself away from Li, whose arms were still tightly holding her in place. To add to the oddity of the scene, Syaoran was smiling. And not the cold, mocking smirk that Meilin's cousin became known for, but a genuine, pleased smile.

"What's going on here?" Meilin asked in disbelief.

"Your JERK of a cousin decided to give me a heart attack – THAT'S what's going on here!" bellowed Sakura. Meilin slowly arched one of her thin eyebrows and shifted her eyes towards Li. When Syaoran saw the look Meilin was giving him, he awkwardly cleared his throat and hastily let go of Sakura.

A big grin formed on Meilin's lips. "Oh, I see. Well, if that's all, I'll be going back to bed. Do try to keep it down… People DO need their rest." She gave the couple a playful wink and was about o leave when the trio heard a crash coming from Tomoyo's room where Sakura was currently staying.

"What was that?" Sakura asked in a frightened voice, once again moving closer to Syaoran. Both Meilin and Syaoran frowned. "I don't know," replied Meilin, "but I think it would be best for us to go check it out."

Sakura gulped and nodded. _'Great… Juuuuuust great.'_

Walking closer to the room, Sakura began to tremble more and more, being slowly overpowered by fear. Suddenly, she felt something warm push her slightly to the side.

"Stay close behind me," said Syaoran in his cold tone, his strong arm pushing Sakura behind himself. Sakura nodded and followed his orders.

Meilin watched her cousin protect Sakura with shock and amusement. _'Who would have thought? Syaoran is actually worried about out little inductee.'_

When the three of them neared the room, they noticed that the door stood wide open. Syaoran looked through the opening and found that no one was inside. He did, however, notice that the window of the room was open, letting the cool night air breeze through the room.

Seeing that no one was inside made Sakura let out a sigh of relief. "May be the wind simply knocked something over?" she asked, looking around the room.

Soon her eyes caught the origin of the crash – on the floor by the opened window, a glass picture frame lay shattered in pieces. "Oh no," Sakura screamed as she rushed towards the precious object. She picked the frame up, holding it face down in her hands.

"What?" asked Meilin. "This picture frame! It was custom made for one of Tomoyo's favorite pictures. The picture was of me wearing for the first time one of Tomoyo's outfits that she's made for me. See?" Sakura turned the picture frame towards Meilin and Syaoran. Yet they couldn't see – the picture was no longer in the frame.

"Hoee!" screamed Sakura. "But that's impossible! The glass of that picture frame was especially sealed - with no way to get the picture out. Tomoyo wanted to keep that photo safe. Where could it be?" She began to frantically look around the floor of the room.

Syaoran's face became grim. "I suppose that is why he broke the frame…" he said in a slow voice.

"Who broke the frame?" asked Sakura, looking up at Li; Meilin, too, gave Syaoran a questionable look.

"Whoever it was that came to take that picture," he growled out. "I suggest that tonight you stay with your friend Naoko. I shall take care of this. Meilin, walk her to Naoko's room."

The two girls watched Li with surprised faces. Noticing that they were not moving, Syaoran yelled, "NOW!" and Meilin grabbed Sakura by the arm, dragging her out of the room.

Li stood in the middle of the room, watching the open window. _'This is going too far…'_

_

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	9. Ch8 Jealous Acts

Another update! Phew! I've been writing like crazy! Muahaha...ha.

Anyhow! I know some of you had a few questions... So I'm gonna take the time and answer a couple of them! Here goes:

**Q:** Why 'Queen of Clubs' and not 'Queen of Hearts'?  
**A:** Because that's what everyone would expect:b But seriously, I just couldn't picture Syaoran as the King of Hearts... He's just not the Hearts kinda guy, you know...

**Q:** Why is everyone a club?  
**A:** Because they belong to The Deck's branch in Japan, which represents the suit of Clubs. The other suits are in other countries...

Alrighty... That's it for now... More Q&A later! Read on and review! I hope you enjoy reading this story... I'm working on the next chapter already, so watch out!

**

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Previously on Queen of Clubs:**

"I suggest that tonight you stay with your friend Naoko. I shall take care of this. Meilin, walk her to Naoko's room."

…

Li stood in the middle of the room, watching the open window. _'This is going too far…'_

**

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Chapter 8 – Jealous Acts**

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After making sure that Sakura has made it safely to Naoko's room, Syaoran decided to take matters into his own hands and find out if his suspicions were correct. 

'_There can be only one person that would go to such lengths to get Sakura's picture…' _Making his way to the fourth level of the mansion, Syaoran's thoughts became as dark as the halls he was walking through. _'Sakura was lucky I stayed behind to walk her to the room. Who knows what would have happened if she had to go by herself.'_

In his brooding thoughts, Syaoran didn't notice how he already came to the door of Sirota's bed chamber. _'This is it…'_

Without knocking, Syaoran threw open the door and surprisingly found Sirota in his bed. Surprised, Sirota sat up in his bed; his jet-black hair tussled from laying down. His bedcovers lid down his upper body, revealing his bare chest. Obviously, Sirota has been in bed for some time.

Syaoran watched Sirota throw him a questioning look as he tried to understand the situation. _'If HE'S been in bed, then who…?'_

"What the hell is going on, Li?" said Sirota in a less than friendly tone. Immediately Syaoran's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits.

"Where did you go after you left the kitchen?" Li decided to cut straight to the chase – he felt that there was no need to waltz around the subject.

Sirota seemed to be surprised by Syaoran's question but calmly answered, "I went straight to bed."

Syaoran's amber eyes focused in on Sirota's face. "But didn't you say you were going to check on Kinomoto's before you would retire?" He knew he got him there, yet Sirota showed no sign of intimidation. "I did indeed say so, but I felt so tired that I decided to check on Miss Sakura in the morning."

Li stared at Sirota for a few moments before mentally cursing and turning to walk away. "Anything else, Li?" Sirota's voice sounded almost like a challenge, making Syaoran look back at the ambassador with a newfound dislike.

"No. That will be it… for now," drew out Li in a chillingly fearful tone. With that, Syaoran walked out of Sirota's room and closed the door behind him.

Waiting until he heard Li's footstep die away behind the door, Sirota breathed a sigh of relief. _'That was a close one…'_

He then reached deep underneath his pillow and took out a small photograph. Smiling down at the picture, he traced its outline with his fingertips. "My beauty…" he whispered, placing a soft kiss onto the piece of paper and replacing it to its hiding place. "Soon I will make you mine, my dear Cherry Blossom…"

After spending the night with Naoko, Sakura woke up and quickly got ready for her shopping trip with Seiriu. Though last night's frightening incident still loomed over her head, she decided to not let it occupy her thoughts too much.

'_If I want to make it through this task, I'll need to focus,'_ she thought with determination. After putting on another one of Tomoyo's custom-made outfits – a light blue skirt that reached down to her knees and a silky white blouse - Sakura made her way to the front door of the mansion.

'_It's almost seven. I hope I won't make Seiriu wait for me…'_ thought Sakura, clipping her hair to the side with a sky-blue rhinestone hairclip as she entered the front hall. She momentarily thought that may be she was overdressed for a simple day of shopping. After all, she even wore a pretty little pair of low, white heels to go along with the outfit! But deciding that it was too late to go back and change anyways, she made her way straight towards the entrance.

To her surprise the person that Sakura found waiting by the front door was NOT Seiriu.

"L-li?" Sakura stuttered out in a shocked voice. _'What's he doing up so early? It's only 7 o'clock in the morning!'_

Syaoran's eyes slowly made their way towards Sakura and lingered at her sight. Noticing her elegant outfit, Syaoran couldn't help but once again think of how beautiful Sakura was. Though he's noticed her gorgeous curves on the very first day of their meeting, seeing Sakura in a skirt for the first time made him reevaluate her body. The outcome was pleasing.

Traveling her body up and down, making sure to take in the sight of Sakura's long, slender legs, Syaoran felt his cheeks warm up in a blush.

'_W-what the-? Since when do I blush!'_ he cried to himself, unwillingly turning his eyes away from Sakura's body before his thoughts would get him in deeper trouble.

He coughed instead of greeting Sakura and explained, "After yesterday's incident I thought it would be best for me to accompany you. You know – just in case something happens."

Sakura watched Syaoran explicate himself to her, not understanding why he couldn't seem to look her in the eyes while talking. Sakura gave him an awkward smile, not knowing how to react to Li's concern for her well-being.

"T-thank you for worrying," she began, "but you shouldn't have troubled yourself over me." Syaoran gave her a surprised look as Sakura continued. "I know that after last night I should be worried, but I'm sure I'll be Ok. After all, Seiriu will be with me!" She gave Li a reassuring smile to try and calm him down, yet to her surprise the effect it had on Li was just the opposite. Instead of calming down, Li was now looking at her through an ice glare.

'_Seiriu. How could I have been so stupid as to forget that she would be going with him? Is that why she is all dressed up…?' _Syaoran began to feel an unpleasant tugging inside of his chest that made his hands roll into tight fists.

"But wouldn't it be better if you had an escort that could actually protect you if anything dangerous happened?" Li tried to reason with her. _'Surely she can see that I would make a much better protector than that Seiriu…'_

"Seiriu is perfectly capable of protecting me!" said Sakura defensively. She didn't know why Li has all of the sudden taken such an interest in her, but she didn't appreciate him undermining her new friend. "Besides," she added, trying to convince him not to bother, "I'm sure you will be busy with all that 'important business to take care of', as you said last night," grateful as she for his concern, she wouldn't let his arrogance be forgotten. "Seiriu will make the perfect escort…" she said in conclusion and tried to give The King a small smile to lighten the mood.

Syaoran's frown, however, only deepened as he felt a sting of jealousy run through his body, making his fists clench up hard enough for his knuckles to become white with anger. _'She's choosing Seiriu over me, is she?'_

As if right on cue, Seiriu himself came strolling into the front hall. "Ah! Sakura! Li! Good morning!" he cheered as he neared the couple. His smile quickly faded as he caught Li's infamous death glare.

"Good morning, Seiriu!" beamed Sakura, "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes!" smiled back Seiriu, once again wanting to get away from Li's fear-provoking stare.

"Have a good day, Li" said the smiling Sakura before she turned to leave with Seiriu. Syaoran, however, only growled in response and stomped away full of jealous rage.

"Hoee…?" Sakura tipped her head to one side, trying to figure out what just happened to The King. _'Why does he seem so angry all of the sudden?'_ But before she could think any more on the subject, she was dragged away by an overly-excited Seiriu.

Walking towards the giant stairway in the hall, Syaoran grumbled under his nose, "Stupid girl! See if I ever offer her help again!"

"You know, if you want to impress her that much, you should really try being nice to her for a change," said a loud noise from the top of the stairs. Syaoran's eyes shot up and saw a grinning Meilin look at him.

Frowning at his cousin's sly grin, Syaoran bit out, "What are you talking about, Meilin?"

Meilin snickered at Syaoran's pathetic excuse at sounding unaffected by her comment. "And I thought it was obvious," she said through her own laughter, "Judging by the daggers you've been shooting with your eyes, I'd say you don't like seeing Sakura with any other man but yourself."

Syaoran glared at Meilin and continued his walk up the stairs, Meilin right at his heels all the way up.

"I also saw the way you were acting around her yesterday. Holding her close, laughing with her, protecting her…"

"That means nothing!" yelled out an annoyed Syaoran.

"It means you like her, you blockhead!" cried out Meilin, giving him a playful tap on his head. Syaoran growled in response and continued walking to his room.

"I DON'T like her!" he said in an angry voice before trying to loose Meilin by quickening his pace. Yet Meilin was not about to give up. '_It's been so long since I've seen Syaoran give out a genuine smile. I will not allow him to blow this because of his idiotic pride!'_

"If you really don't like her, then I suppose you wouldn't care to know who stole that picture of Sakura…" This immediately caught Syaoran's attention and made him stop dead in his tracks.

Although he could not prove that Sirota was the one that stole that photo, Syaoran knew it could be no one else. If Meilin had any information to prove his instincts right, Syaoran was not the one to wait to get it.

"Who?" he said, getting straight to the point. Meilin gave him a knowing smile, "So you DO care…"

"Cut the crap, Meilin. Who stole that picture?" growled out Syaoran in his impatience. Not liking his tone, Meilin gave him a small glare and said in a very stubborn voice, "I won't say anything until you admit to me that you care about Sakura."

Syaoran stared at his cousin with emotionless eyes without muttering a sound for a few minutes. Although he looked cool and composed, he could feel his heart race within his chest. _'D-do I…like her?'_

"I…" he finally said, "… care about her well-being. I can't have her be killed by some psycho before I get my revenge on her for her throwing her purse at me!"

Sighing, Meilin decided to give the matter up. "Knowing you, this is as close to a declaration of love as I'll ever hear coming out of your mouth…"

"Just tell me who stole the damn picture!" growled out Syaoran, glaring at his cousin. Meilin's expression immediately sobered. "Sirota," she flatly stated.

"I knew it!" cried out Syaoran, at once glad that he was right and angry at himself for doubting it. "How did you find out?" he asked, shaking Meilin by her shoulders.

"Calm down, Little Wolf! No need to kill the messenger…" said Meilin, escaping his grasp. "I had my suspicions all along, so I sneaked into his room just now while he was taking a shower. I found a picture of Sakura underneath his pillow. Pretty disturbing, if you ask me…"

Syaoran clenched his fists, "I knew that creep was up to something. Too long has he been watching Sakura…"

Meilin smirked once more, "So you noticed someone staring at Sakura? Interesting…"

Catching Meilin's tone, Syaoran gave her a quick glare. "Shut it! Sirota was just making it really obvious. It was hard NOT to notice." Syaoran began to feel ridiculous, always having to explain himself to his cousin. _'Why can't she just let the subject go…?'_

"Well," said Meilin with the same smirk plastered on her face, "I can't deny Sirota's lack of discreetness, but… I know that there's more to it than you're telling me. I've known you for my entire life, Syaoran – no matter how much you try to hide, I'll always find you out."

'_How can there be something to find out when even I don't know what I'm hiding…'_ Syaoran thought to himself. Desiring to escape the subject, Syaoran switched the conversation to the matter at hand – Sirota.

"I need to go and take care of Mr. Tsu. I think The Ace won't have a problem if I kick this creep out." Syaoran almost turned to go, but was stopped my Meilin.

"Are you crazy! He's the Ambassador to China! You can't get rid of him now – we're in the middle of peace talks!"

Syaoran's brows furrowed. _'Damn! She's right… The Deck's houses of Japan and China have always had problems –but never as much as they have been lately. The competition between the two Suits is beginning to be unbearable… and even dangerous. We can't kill our only link to the Suit of Spades right in the middle of peace talks!'_

"Well, then what am I supposed to do! I can't just let him hurt Sak- umm…. I mean Kinomoto!" stammered Syaoran. If he was trying to conceal his growing attraction to the emerald-eyed inductee, Syaoran was failing miserably. Luckily, Meilin chose not to pick on Syaoran's name blunder.

"Warn Sakura. I'll alert Uncle of the situation. Also, do your best to keep Sirota busy. You know that the peace talks will be over in a week or two… So you just have to keep him away from Sakura for that long. After that, we can send Sirota back to China," said Meilin with a serous face.

"I suppose you're right… I'll tell Kinomoto about it today. But keeping Sirota busy is harder than you make it out to be," sighed out Syaoran.

Meilin gave her cousin a firm pat on the back, "And I'm sure you would know! I've noticed how you've been trying to keep him away from Sakura these past few days." She gave out a loud laugh as she watched Syaoran's face color with a pink flush.

"I wasn't trying – I was just – I -" Syaoran was, for once, at a loss of words. Meilin laughed even harder at his reaction.

"Syaoran," she said with mirth, "you and I need to have a heart to heart talk about your courting procedure. Quite frankly – you don't have one."

Syaoran growled at his cousin and said, "I will worry about that when I'll be trying to court someone. It's ridiculous of you to assume that I would ever be interested in someone as common as Kinomoto! Now if you'll excuse me, Meilin, I need to go and take care of some business."

Meilin watched her cousin stomp off into the direction of his study. Though she knew that a match between Syaoran and Sakura would be perfect – after all, her cheerful nature could soften up her cousin's harsh ways – Meilin understood that it would take a lot for Syaoran to let go of his pride. She knew very well that Syaoran would never settle for someone that isn't even a Face Card.

Showing a distressing smile, Meilin sighed out and hoped with all her heart that her too-proud-for-his-own-good cousin would forget about his big head and would go after Sakura like she knew he wanted to.

Stomping into his study, Syaoran loudly slammed the door behind him. Grumbling to himself, he sat in a black leather chair by his mahogany desk.

"Stupid Meilin… What does she know?" he muttered angrily. Yet his own thoughts kept brining him back to the moment when he held Sakura tightly in his arms after scaring her half to death. In that moment he knew he didn't want to let her go. He knew he liked feeling her in his arms. He knew… He knew that he liked her.

Sighing, he a hand through his already messy chestnut-brown hair. "Great… I've fallen for a nobody! She's not even a face card, for goodness' sake!" he cried in attempt to talk himself out of the idea of perusing Sakura.

Yet his own mind seemed to be as insistent as Meilin, reminding him, _'You're The King. You can change that…'_

Leaning back in his chair, Syaoran closed his amber eyes and tried to compose his own feelings. He WAS The King. He COULD change Sakura's status. But… _'Why bother? She seems to like that Seiriu much more than she likes me, anyway…'_

Opening his eyes, he stared at the top left drawer of his desk. Slowly opening it, he pulled out a small, black velvet box. Holding it in his hand, Syaoran traced the small package with his fingers, feeling the soft texture of its covering. Opening the container, Syaoran revealed a tiny clubs-shaped pin. The gold of the brooch sparkled in the light of his study, bringing out the "Q" that was engraved in it.

Letting out a final sigh, Syaoran closed the little box and put it back into its drawer. "Whether I like her or not, she still has to pay for throwing her purse at me!" he grumbled out loud, mentally adding, _'And for choosing that little boy Seiriu over me…'_

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	10. Ch9 Have It Your Way!

Over 50 reviews! I'm so greatfull! You guys rock! Anyhow... Here's the next chapter! Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: Me no own CCS. But plot IS mine, so please don't steal... without permision. :b

**

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Previously on Queen of Clubs:**

"Whether I like her or not, she still has to pay for throwing her purse at me!" Syaoran grumbled out loud, mentally adding, _'And for choosing that little boy Seiriu over me…'_

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Chapter 9 – Have It Your Way!**

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Shopping with Seiriu turned out to be a lot of fun for Sakura. After spending nearly 7 hours going through several furniture and department stores, they finally got everything that Sakura needed for the rooms. Noticing that it was nearing five o'clock, Sakura quickly filled out the delivery forms for all the large pieces of furniture while Seiriu packed away the smaller items (such as linen) into their car. Finishing their work, the two friends made their way back home. 

Getting back to Clubs Castle, Seiriu and Sakura found a rather curious scene. As they entered the front hall they heard loud yelling and cheering coming from the lounge. Going through the large double doors, they found Syaoran, Meilin, Sirota, and Yamazaki watching a soccer game on a large-screen TV. Besides the Royals, a few of the inductees – namely Takahiro, Naoko, and Tori – were watching the game as well.

"Get it you idiot!" yelled Yamazaki, obviously getting very into the game, while Tori and Takahiro cheered in the background.

"Welcome back!" smiled Meilin, noticing Seiriu and Sakura enter the lounge. Upon hearing Sakura's name, Syaoran looked away from the television screen. Seeing Sakura stand close to Seiriu made the jealous feeling inside of him return. Frowning, he attempted to turn his attention back to the game.

"Did you get everything you needed?" Meilin continued.

"Yup! Seiriu was a big help!" smiled Sakura, "The furniture is already on its way… I'll be able to get it all in the rooms tonight!"

"You really think you'll be able to do all that by yourself? In one night?" coldly said Syaoran, keeping his eyes on the TV screen.

"Hoee?" blinked Sakura, "Why by myself? Won't the delivery people help me move the furniture in?" she asked in an innocent tone, turning her head to Seiriu as if hoping he would reaffirm her.

"Need I remind you that the inductees are not allowed to get outside help for their tasks?" stated Syaoran in the same icy attitude.

Sakura slowly gulped. "B-but then how am I supposed to get all that furniture in the rooms?"

"Ask around – no one in this room seems to be doing anything…" said Meilin, adding with a small smile, "I'd love to help you, but like I said earlier – Seiriu and I have work to do…"

Sakura turned to the other people in the room. "Umm... Would any of you be willing - "

Her sentence was cut short by none other than Sirota. "I've been waiting for you to ask, my dear Sakura! I'd love to help you out!" he said, getting up from his seat. But before he could make one step in her direction, Syaoran's voice cut through the room.

"SIT!" Syaoran growled, earning a glare from Sirota. After making sure the ambassador took his seat, Syaoran turned his head to Sakura. "Do you really expect the Royal Court to help YOU?" His voice was low and seethed with arrogance.

"I don't see why not. No one seems particularly busy – so why not help me out?" said Sakura calmly, though she was trying her best not to let her anger flare. _'What a self-centered jerk!'_

"Busy or not – you can find your own damn help!" Syaoran growled, still bitterly remembering Sakura's choice. _'She didn't want my help this morning, so she's not going to get it now. Too bad her beloved Seiriu can't help her now!'_

"Fine!" yelled Sakura, "Then the Royal Court doesn't have help me! I'm sure my fellow inductees will prove to be more than willing to show common courtesy!" With that she turned to Takahiro, Tori, and Naoko. She was about to ask them to help her when Li's voice once again roared through the room.

"You had this coming since day one - throwing your purse at me without even considering the consequences. And now you dare to talk back to me? Don't think you won't be punished for your insolent behavior!" he barked at Sakura. Turning to the inductees he loudly proclaimed, "No one in this room is allowed to help her! Understood!" The inductees merely nodded in fright.

Angry, Sakura was about to fling herself at Syaoran and strangle him to death, but luckily she was stopped by Meilin's hand on her shoulder.

Leaning in closer to Sakura's ear, Meilin softly whispered, "He only mentioned the people in this room. Loda – the guy working on the attic – isn't in here. He's the captain of the university's weight lifting team. I'm sure he'll be able to help you out."

Taking a breath to calm herself down, Sakura faced Meilin and gave her a grateful look. Then, throwing Syaoran a cold glare, she said in her most biting manner, "Have it your way, your majesty." With that she left the room and went straight towards the attic.

Walking over to Meilin, Syaoran grabbed her by the shoulders and asked, "What did you tell her?"

"I merely told her of a way to get the task completed, you moron!" said Meilin, brushing his hands from her shoulders. "Nice going, by the way, "she added with sarcasm before walking away from him, "The way you're acting, she'll fall in love with you in no time."

For the umpteenth time that week, Syaoran let out an unpleasant growl and stomped over to the mini bar to pour himself a drink. Noticing that the rest of the people in the lounge were throwing him odd looks, he angrily said, "What are you looking at? Get back to the game!" Needless to say, every face in the room immediately shot back to the wide-screen television.

After finding her way to the attic, Sakura began to wonder if Loda would really be willing to help her out with her dilemma. Although she had seen him around a lot, she was never able to strike up a decent conversation with him, so they really didn't know each other well.

'_It's worth a try…'_ Sakura told herself and approached a working Loda, who was currently moving large boxes from one side of the attic to the other, obviously almost done with his own task of cleaning the attic.

Noticing Sakura approach him made Loda stop, still holding a heavy box in his strong hands. He looked at her questionably.

"Ummm…" began Sakura, "Hi there!" Loda nodded in response. _'Really not the talking type,_' Sakura noted mentally.

"I-I know that this will probably be too much to ask for, but…" Sakura's heart began to race. _'What if he says no!' _she mentally screamed. "But… I have a big problem with my task. I need to move all the furniture into the rooms tonight so that I'll be able to finish my task by the end of tomorrow, but I have no one to help me. Meilin told me that you're the captain of the weight lifting team and that you might be able to help me. S-so I was wondering if - "

Before Sakura could continue her nervous rambling, Loda's strong voice cut her off. "I'll do it," he said simply, putting down the box and reaching into his pocket to fish out his cell phone. "I'll call my team-mates to help."

"Y-you will!" Sakura blinked up at Loda, "Thank you so much!" she finally cried, overjoyed.

"But there's one catch," added Loda in the same calm manner. Sakura blinked at him, "Hoee?"

"If I help you, you'll have to get your friend Naoko to talk to me," he said as if it was the most obvious demand in the world. Sakura blinked a few more times.

"Naoko? You want me to get Naoko to talk to you?" Suddenly she noticed a slight blush creeping up on Loda's cheeks. _'Oh, my goodness! He likes Naoko!'_

"Oh, my goodness! You like Naoko," she echoed her thoughts, making Loda turn bright red.

"S-she's quiet… and doesn't talk much... So will you do it?" Loda said, quite embarrassed.

"Sure!" beamed Sakura. _'This is great! I get help to finish my task, AND I get to set up one of my friends with a nice guy!'_

Loda dialed a few numbers on his cell phone, mumbled something into the receiver, and moments later spoke up to Sakura. "Five of my team mates will be here in a few minutes. Let's go and see the wing you've been working with. You can explain to me where you want everything to go." Sakura happily nodded and led the way to the new wing.

After showing Loda around the rooms and explaining some of her ideas, Sakura heard a loud knocking on the front door. Figuring it was either the delivery man or Loda's friends, Sakura rushed to the front entrance.

"I'll get it!" she screamed to no one in particular as she ran towards the door. But by the time she made it to her destination, she saw Syaoran opening the door for whoever it was that was knocking.

"Hi! We're here for Sakura!" she heard a cheery, male voice from outside the doorway. A smile appeared on Sakura's face as she neared the door.

She saw five, extremely tall and well-built young men standing on the doorstep, waiting to be let in, while a grim-looking Syaoran threw daggers at them with his eyes.

"Hi there!" greeted Sakura, "I'm Sakura! You must be Loda's friends!" The five men smiled and nodded.

"Yes," said one of the boys, a friendly smile showing even in his crystal-blue eyes, "Loda called and said that you needed help. So he ordered us to come and help you out." The four guys behind him only nodded in agreement.

"Thank you for coming! You don't know how much your help means to me!" smiled Sakura, grabbing the boy who spoke by the arm and dragging him inside the mansion as the rest of the gang followed.

Watching Sakura get all friendly with the newcomers made Syaoran glare even harder. _'Great! Thanks to my stupid revenge I threw Sakura into the arms of FIVE other men' _Syaoran mentally cursed himself.

As the weightlifters entered the mansion Sakura asked them for their names.

"I'm Koishi." "I'm Nakuto!" "My name's Jihau!" "Taron here!" "And you can call me Zhiko!" The boys introduced themselves one by one, finishing with the blue-eyed young man.

"It's nice to meet you all," said Sakura giving them a small bow, "And you can call me Sakura."

Syaoran loudly coughed to make Sakura acknowledge his presence.

Sakura's emerald eyes shot towards Li. "Oh, That's Li," she added in an emotionless tone, "He always looks this grumpy, so don't mind him."

Li growled and glared at Sakura. _'Why do I like her again?'_ He was angry at her cold attitude, despite knowing that he was the one that pushed her to it.

Sakura turned away from him and brightly smiled at the weightlifters. Seeing her smile, made Syaoran regret his previous behavior,_ 'Oh that's right… That's why I like her.'_

"Ah! You're here!" said Loda, entering the front hall. He smiled to his pals as he came closer. "And just in time," he pointed outside.

While the group was talking, two large trucks pulled into the driveway of the castle.

"How much stuff did you buy!" said Loda in disbelief. Sakura blushed slightly and rubbed the back of her head.

"Hey! I have to completely furnish five bedrooms, five bathrooms, and a lounge! That's a lot!" she said in mock defense.

"Well, then we better get to work," Loda calmly said and nodded for his friends to follow him to the trucks.

The six weight lifters walked towards the huge vehicles, helping the delivery men unload all the furniture. Sakura ran after them and, despite the men's attempts to convince her to let them do all the work, she began helping them unload some of the smaller things.

Li watched Sakura as she fussed around the unloaded furniture, trying to figure which room each piece of furniture belongs to. Seeing her happily converse with Loda and his friends made his jealous heart ache to be close to her. His fists tightened as his amber eyes softened in longing. _'Stupid pride…'_ he thought to himself.

"I bet you're regretting yelling at her just about now," said a mischievous voice behind him. He turned around and found Meilin staring at him with an I-told-you-so smirk on her face. Her arms were folded across her chest and one of her feet was rhythmically tapping on the hard-wood floor.

"I had no other choice," Syaoran tried to rationalize with his cousin as well as with himself, "She doesn't seem to know how to properly speak to or act around a Royal."

"I see nothing wrong in the way she interacts with me," plainly stated Meilin. Syaoran could only avert his gaze. He knew that his cousin was right, but being the hard-headed King that he was, he would rather die than to admit it.

"Well, what's done is done," he said calmly, "No need to fret over something that can't be changed." His eyes were still intently watching Sakura, which did not go by unnoticed by Meilin.

"Then perhaps you should stop staring and figure out a way to get into her good graces again," she said, giving him a hard pat on the back.

Syaoran nodded, turned away from the sight of Sakura, and closed the front door before him. Sighing, he slowly made his way back into the lounge while Meilin turned on the flash on her photo camera and walked outside to take pictures of Sakura just as she promised Tomoyo.

Once the two cousins exited the room, the front hall became deathly silent. Suddenly, slow footsteps sounded through the empty room, coming closer and closer to the front entrance. The large door squeaked as it was opened just enough for a person to see through to the drive way.

Sirota's maroon eyes watched through the crack he made with the front door. He watched Sakura moving around the boxes of furniture, talking and laughing with her newly-made friends, trying to hide from Meilin's camera. His eyes narrowed in dislike.

'_Li has made a bad choice, surrounding her with men like that,_' his mind seethed, _'With the six of them around, I'll never get the chance to get her by herself.' _He slowly closed the crack of the door, but continued staring at the wood as if he could simply look through it. "I guess I'll just have to wait until she's alone," he whispered out, an eerie smirk forming on his thin lips. With that finishing sentence, Sirota stepped away from the front entrance and walked in the direction of the lounge.

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	11. Ch10 Blushing, Blushing, and More Blush...

Hey guys! Another update! I'm trying to write as fast as I can... I've been slacking off at school, though. I'm afraid I'm gonna be a bit slower with updating the story from now on - I HAVE to catch up on homework sometime... But I promise to keep working really hard on this, though! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS, so please don't sue me!

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Previously on Queen of Clubs:**

'_Li has made a bad choice, surrounding her with men like that,_' his mind seethed, _'With the six of them around, I'll never get the chance to get her alone.' _He slowly closed the crack of the door, but continued staring at the wood as if he could simply look through it. "I guess I'll just have to wait until she's alone," he whispered out, an eerie smirk forming on his thin lips. With that finishing sentence, Sirota stepped away from the front entrance and walked in the direction of the lounge.

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Chapter 10 – Blushing, Blushing, and More Blushing**

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Despite having six well-built men helping her with the furniture, Sakura was still rather pressed for time. It was well past midnight when all of the furniture was arranged properly inside the rooms. Having thanked and said goodbye to Loda's teammates and wished Loda a good night, Sakura looked around the rooms and realized that her task was still nowhere near done. 

She lat out an exhausted sigh and wondered if she should get some sleep and risk not finishing her task on time. Tiredly, she lay in the middle of the lounge floor and closed her eyes, trying to make a mental list of the things that's till needed to be finished before the other members of the society returned to Clubs Castle and she would have to present her finished task.

'_Put on the bedding, put up the curtains, hang up the pictures…' _she mentally wrote out the list of her tasks. Sighing, she decided that getting sleep right at that moment was simply not an option. Although she was extremely fatigued, Sakura decided that she would at least put up the curtains in each room before she would allow herself to get some rest.

With that she opened her eyes and to her startling surprise she saw two maroon orbs boring into her. Her heart momentarily skipped a beat out of pure fear and she couldn't fight the urge to scream.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Sakura's voice rang through the entire wing.

"Shhh," hushed Sirota, trying to get her to stop screaming. _'Silly girl! She'll make someone come if she won't stop being so loud!'_

Sakura stopped her scream and slowly closed her mouth. Although she now knew who startled her, her fear did not go away. _'I didn't even hear him come in…'_ she thought, when she realized that they were alone.

"I'm sorry for frightening you, my dearest Cherry Blossom," Sirota voiced out in his most sleek tone, "I just thought that perhaps you would still be in need of some help with your task."

Sakura quickly got herself up from the floor and made a few small steps away from Sirota, noticing that his lips slightly twitched at her actions.

"Umm… No thank you. I think I'll be perfectly able to finish the task by myself. I really don't have that much left to do…" Sakura lied through her teeth. She gave Sirota an uneasy smile, hoping that he would get the hint. However, her little white lie seemed to only make matters worse.

"In that case, since you won't be so busy, how about we spend some time together? I would love to get to know you better, my darling Sakura…" Sirota practically purred out as he made his way closed and closer to Sakura's trembling frame.

"Umm…" Sakura stammered as she slowly backed away from Sirota, "I-I don't think that would be such a good idea. You see, I'm quite exhausted…"

"Oh, that's too bad. What if I promise you that I won't tire you out… too much?" Sirota's mouth curled into a hinting smile that made Sakura feel very uneasy. He made his way towards her once more, making Sakura step even further back. She would have continued backing away, but soon she hit the wall behind her and knew that she had nowhere else to run. Her eyes filled with genuine panic as she saw Sirota near her face.

"I can assure you - you will enjoy yourself…" Sirota drew out before completely pinning Sakura against the wall. He inched his face closer to hers, wanting to finally taste her mouth with his own. _'I've waited for so long…'_

Sakura closed her eyes in fright, but managed to whimper out a barely audible "No…"

Sirota stopped his advancement and frowned. _'No? What does she mean "No"!'_ His maroon eyes began to flicker with dislike, "What did you say, my dear?" he asked, trying to calm his raging hormones.

"I believe she said 'No', Sirota," Li's strong, masculine voice interrupted the scene. Both Sakura and Sirota immediately looked in the direction of his voice and found an enraged Syaoran standing in the doorway. "So I suggest you let her go and remove yourself from this room."

'_Damn it!'_ cursed Sirota, _'I knew her scream would attract someone's attention!'_ Reluctantly, Sirota stepped away from the trembling Sakura and gave Syaoran a long and icy glare, which was only replied by the fuming King. "Very well," Sirota stated in an attempt to regain his composure, "We will continue this later, dearest Cherry Blossom…" Sirota said to Sakura before quickly trying to flee the room.

On his way out, Sirota was stopped as Syaoran grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and brought Sirota's face close to his own. Syaoran then treacherously whispered to Sirota so that only he would be able to hear, "If you lay your fingers on her one more time, you'll be dealing with me. And believe me, there will be Hell to pay if you anger me more than you have already." Syaoran's amber eyes burned with utter rage as he harshly pushed Sirota away from him and sent him flying into the wall.

Staring with scared maroon eyes at the angry King before him, Sirota scrambled out of the room, thinking, _'This is far from over…'_

After making sure that Sirota left, Syaoran turned to Sakura and saw her slowly slide down the length of the wall. She had her eyes closed and her pretty pink lips slightly open and shakily breathing in air.

"Are you alright?" Syaoran asked with true concern as he walked over to where she sat. He crouched down before her and looked at her frightened face. Suddenly, Syaoran felt immense warmth engulf with chest and he realized that Sakura was embracing him in a tight hug.

"Thank you so much!" she cried, "I was so scared!" Sakura held on tightly to Syaoran. Every angry thought that she held against him melted away with her gratefulness for his protection.

Meanwhile, Syaoran was barely holding on to his own sanity. Feeling her body so close to his made Syaoran's heart race within him and a bright-red blush appear on his tanned cheeks. Although he knew that she was probably just grateful for him saving her from Sirota's advancements, he couldn't help but feel ecstatic at having her in his arms. Unsurely, he brought his own arms around Sakura's body and lightly pressed her to him.

"It's alright," he tried to calm her, "Meilin probably didn't get the chance to warn you…"

"W-warn me?" Sakura asked, moving slightly away from Li to be able to face him. Regretting to loss of their closeness, but concentrating on her question, Syaoran tried to explain the danger that Sakura was in.

"Yes. Meilin found out that it was Sirota that stole your picture. We think that he is probably… infatuated with you. In an unhealthy way…" Syaoran tried to say it calmly, as to not worry Sakura too much. Unfortunately, he was failing.

Sakura's emerald eyes shined with dread as she asked, "H-he stole the picture? He's infatuated…? Are you saying that he's obsessed with me?" The fear in her voice began to rise with every word she uttered.

"Yes," said Syaoran putting his hands on her shoulders, "But don't be scared. Meilin and I will do our best to keep him as far away from you as possible. He only needs to stay in Clubs Castle for another week or so. After that, I'll make sure he never bothers you again." He ran his hands up and down her arms in a gentle manner, hoping that she would believe him. Sakura looked at Syaoran's beautifully chiseled face and was surprised that instead of his usual detached gaze, Syaoran's eyes twinkled with a kind and warm reassurance. She even noticed that he was giving her a calming smile.

'_How can he be so cold and arrogant one moment, and so soft and soothing the next?' _she thought to herself as she continued staring into his eyes.

"Two weeks? A-and there's no way of… sending him away somewhere?" she finally uttered out, her eyes filling with anxiety. Syaoran found himself feeling incredibly protective of the gorgeous girl in his arms. Seeing the fear in her eyes made him want to walk after Sirota, break him into little pieces, stuff him in a box, and send him back to China.

"I'm afraid our society will still be in need of him for the next two weeks. His position as the Ambassador to China is a very important one right now and there would be very troublesome to replace him right now…" Syaoran tried to explain to Sakura without getting into the complex state of The Deck's politics.

Sakura nodded in mock apprehension and quietly said, "T-then there's nothing else for me to do but be careful, I suppose… I thank you for your concern." Her voice was still tinted with fear, but Syaoran also noticed her hint of formality. He frowned at her change of voice, wanting her to drop the ceremonial tone.

Sakura slightly trembled as she thought of what Sirota might do to her in two week's time and Li could feel her shudder as he held her in his arms.

'_In my arms…_' his thoughts trailed. Suddenly he realized that she WAS still in his arms, making him blush even more. "Y-you're welcome," he stuttered out, turning his face away from her in hopes that she wouldn't notice the rosy tint of his cheeks.

"I-if you wish, I could get someone to stay with stay with you until feel safe… O-or I could stay with you…" he said, his handsome face coloring into all shades of red.

Sakura's eyes widened in shock. _'He's actually trying to be nice!'_ She looked on as Li once more turned his eyes away from her to hide the rising color in his cheeks. She then became aware of their position – they were both on the floor, while she was practically sitting in his lap, her slender arms circling his torso. Syaoran's arms, too, were still around Sakura. Suddenly embarrassed by her own forwardness, Sakura loosened her grip on Syaoran and tried to move away.

Feeling her pull away from him made Syaoran mentally groan in protest. "It's ok," he heard her say in a small voice, "I'm sure I will be fine…" He frowned. He knew that he has scared Sirota pretty well, but he was still unsure whether or not that creep would dare return to Sakura again. After all, Sirota did say, "We will continue this later…"

'_She must be scared! Why can't she stop being so stubborn and let me help her?'_ he thought irritably.

"But I don't think it's reasonable for you to stay by yourself tonight," Syaoran insisted, his voice loosing some of his softness. Sakura immediately noticed this change of tone. _'His kindness certainly is short-lived…'_

"And I don't think it would be fair of me to ask you to wake someone just to make them keep me company," said Sakura, her voice getting a slightly annoyed pitch.

"I'm sure no one would mind to keep you company, considering the circumstances," Li once again tried to persuade her.

Sakura let out a long sigh and flatly said, "I know no one would MIND, but that's not the point! I'll be finished as soon as I hang up the curtains and then I can go to bed in Naoko's room. See? Not a big deal! I think I can handle to be by myself for about an hour or so…" Although Sakura was scared, she didn't want The King to think that she needed a babysitter.

"An hour is plenty of time for Sirota to return and continue what he was doing," Syaoran stated, frowning down at Sakura. _'Why is she being so stubborn?'_

"Yes…" Sakura squirmed at the mention of the creepy ambassador, "But I still don't want to bother anyone…"

Syaoran frowned once more. He didn't want to leave her alone for Sirota to waltz in and go on with his assault. "In that case, I'll be staying with you," he said matter-of-factly and sat down in a plush chair that Sakura has bought for the lounge of the new wing that very day.

"But," Sakura began to protest, "I don't need anyone staying with me!"

Syaoran silently folded his arms across his chest to let her know that nothing that she would say would make him change his mind. Sakura watched Syaoran cockily slump into the chair and raised an eyebrow. _'He really is as stubborn as Yamazaki described him to be,'_ she chuckled.

"Have it your way," she said to The King, figuring that it would be nice to have some company while she put up the curtains anyway.

"So you've said," Li replied a sly smirk formed on his lips, remembering their morning's fight. He was glad to find that his comment earned him a quiet laugh from his emerald-eyed companion. His hear beat wildly in his chest as he heard her melodic expression of mirth and he found himself wishing that he could make her laugh all the time.

Sakura went over to a few bags that were laying on the wood floor of the lounge and began to sort through them to find the curtains. From the chair that he was sitting in, Syaoran had the perfect view of Sakura. He gulped as he saw her bend down to go through a plastic bag. Feeling his palms begin to sweat, Syaoran cleared his throat and unfastened the top button of his black dress-shirt.

'_If I don't find something to distract me, I'm afraid I might just take her up on her word and have it my way,_' he thought, desperately trying to force his thoughts away from Sakura's alluring figure.

"Aha!" cried Sakura, pulling out a set of long, red, velvet curtain from one of the bags. "I've found them! I think these will go nicely with this room," she added, unwrapping the elegant draperies.

Her comment made Syaoran finally look around the lounge and take in his surroundings. The walls, painted in a soft shade of gold, gave the room a warm and glowing look. There were a few empty bookshelves arranged alongside one of the walls with three entrances to bedchambers; a big fireplace on the wall opposite it with a couple of doors leading to the other bedrooms; and the entrance into the wing in the third wall. The last wall in the room was mostly occupied by an enormous window leading into the castle's back gardens.

A nicely-padded red couch that was facing the fireplace was the centerpiece of the room, with two plush chairs – one of which was now occupied by The King himself – accompanying it. A delicately-carved coffee table stood in front of the couch, creating a cozy sitting area.

Though the room was lacking many accessories and personalizing touches, Syaoran could feel that the room would turn out very homey and elegant.

"You've done a good job on this room," Syaoran said absentmindedly. Sakura looked up from her curtains to meet his eyes. He blushed and added, "F-for a silly little girl, that is."

Sakura rolled her eyes. '_That guy just can't be nice to me. I guess I'll just have to get used it…'_ She then shook her head and said, "Thanks. I'll take that as a compliment," and then went back to the curtains.

'_Damn it!_' mentally cursed Syaoran, _'Why can't I just be nice to her!'_ He watched as Sakura finally managed to unwrap the draperies and attempted to hang them up.

He chuckled as he saw her struggle to put them on their rods. After she hung the draperies on the curtain rod, she tried to place the rod on top of the window. While she was definitely not short, she was still not tall enough to reach the top of the window. Letting out a frustrated sigh, Sakura dropped the curtains and the rod, and walked over to the unoccupied chair. Dragging it after her, she brought the plush seat up to the window and used it to help her reach the top of the window.

Sakura tried and tried to make the curtains stay, but all to no avail. She knew very well that she would need someone else to help her with it, but she dared not ask Syaoran for help. Deciding to give it a last try, Sakura reached and leaned with all her might to hang up the curtains, but then felt the chair underneath her move from her own pushing.

She let out a small yelp before she felt two strong hands holding her in place by the waist. She looked down and found Syaoran giving her an amused sneer. "Need some help?" he smirked.

"Yes," Sakura said in an aggravated tone, "but I know better than to ask you for it! Heaven forbid a Royal help someone like ME."

Once again Syaoran regretted for acting so harshly towards the new inductee. He looked away from her frustrated face in remorse and stepped away after making sure she was steady in her place. "It's OK if you ask me for help now…" He said, walking to the other side of the window and taking the other end of the curtain rod.

"Why is it OK now?" Sakura asked with confusion.

"It just is," said Syaoran plainly, not wanting her to probe his feelings, "Now let's get these things up." Unlike Sakura, Syaoran was able to reach the top of the window, although he had to stand on his toes to do so. He reached with the rod in his hand and motioned for her to do the same.

Sakura complied with The King's order and in second's time the first curtains were up. "See? There's nothing to it," Syaoran teased Sakura for her previous curtain struggles. Sakura gave him a mock glare, but answered, "Yes… And now to the five bedrooms!" She then happily skipped towards the plastic shopping bags to fish out the next set of curtains.

"Five more?" groaned Syaoran, "Don't you want to sleep?" He walked over to Sakura to see which curtains they were to hang up next.

"Of course I do!" said Sakura, "But I don't have much time to finish the rooms… I need to do as much as I can tonight. After I hang up the curtains, I'll get some rest." She took out a set of gorgeous violet curtains and looked over them. Turning to face Syaoran, she gave him a small smile before saying, "If you're tired, you're more than welcome to go, your highness…"

Syaoran wrinkled his nose at her address. "I'm not tired…" he mumbled out, taking the curtains from her hands. Sakura blushed slightly as she felt Li's hands brush against hers. "Which room do these go in?" asked Syaoran, already putting the drapes on the next curtain rod.

"T-that one over there," Sakura pointed to a lavender painted bedroom. Her heart was still beating harshly from Syaoran's accidental touch. _'W-why is my heart beating so fast!' _she asked herself while Syaoran nodded and walked over to the room that she pointed at. Sakura followed close behind him, still wondering what it was about Li's touch that made her feel so giddy.

With Syaoran's help, Sakura managed to hang up all of her curtains in about half an hour. "Thank you for your help," Sakura sighed out, tiredly tumbling onto the lounge couch. She closed her weary eyes and simply sat, finally enjoying a moment of rest.

Syaoran walked over to the couch and sat not too far away from Sakura. "You're welcome," he quietly said and looked at her sleepy face. _'She must be exhausted…'_ he thought, barely stifling a yawn himself.

"I guess you're really not as bad as I thought you were," drowsily mumbled Sakura as her head began to droop. At first Li scowled at her confession. _'Not as bad? What's THAT supposed to mean!'_ But his displeasure melted away when he saw her give out a cute yawn and her head slowly titling to the side.

Sakura began to feel all of the day's events taking a toll on her body. Her head started to feel dizzy and her eyelids became as heavy as lead. Unable to keep herself awake for much longer, she tilted her head in the most comfortable position – towards Syaoran. Once again she could sense his soft smell of sandalwood and feel the radiating heat of his body. '_So warm…_' she thought before finally loosing her mind in sleep.

Slowly Sakura's head made its way to Syaoran's shoulder as she fell into an exhausted sleep. Furiously blushing, Syaoran had every intention of waking her and telling her to go to bed, but he simply couldn't bring himself to open his mouth.

Silently he watched Sakura sleep on his shoulder. Her pink lips were slightly open as her chest was slowly rising with every deep breath he took. He sighed, suddenly grateful for Sirota's worrisome actions_. 'If it wasn't for that creep, I wouldn't have an excuse to stay with her…'_ he thought.

After a while of watching Sakura, Syaoran began to feel his own head grow tired. Letting out a last yawn, he closed his eyes not to open them again until the next morning.

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	12. Ch 11 Man Talk

SORRY I'VE BEEN GONE FOR SO LONG! I had midterms AND the flu! But now I'm on Spring Break, so I promise to update more frequently. Enjoy!**  
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Previously on Queen of Clubs:**

After a while of watching Sakura, Syaoran began to feel his own head grow tired. Letting out a last yawn, he closed his eyes not to open them again until the next morning.

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Chapter 11 – Man Talk**

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Syaoran woke up with a start from a bright flash of light hitting his eyes. After finally being able to focus his sight, Syaoran found his oh-so-devilish cousin Meilin taking pictures of him as he slept. He growled in a most-unpleasant manner and was about to swat the camera out of Meilin's hand when he felt something heavy rest of his left shoulder. He quickly turned his head to find out what was holding him back from attacking his cousin when he saw a tightly-sleeping Sakura rest her head on his shoulder. 

Unable to move or utter another sound, Syaoran sat and gaped at the sight of the sleeping inductee. Seeing another flash, he looked back and glared at the giggling Meilin.

"Someone's getting cozy," Meilin laughed out, snapping even more pictures of the couple. Hearing Meilin's naturally-loud voice made Sakura slowly wake from her slumber. As she leisurely opened her eyes, she noticed a madly-blushing Syaoran look at her in desperation.

"Hoee!" Sakura screamed, jumping away from Syaoran as if he was the embodiment of all evil. Meilin broke out into a fit of laughter. Syaoran lightly frowned when he saw her move to the opposite end of the couch.

"Sorry to have spoiled the moment," Meilin said between giggles, "but it's nearly 12 in the afternoon and I thought that it would be best to wake Sakura up so that she could finish her work. All of the members of our society are returning tomorrow morning, so the rooms have to be done by tonight."

Sakura sat huddled at the other end of the couch, trying her best to cool off her bright-red face. She nodded and stammered out, "T-thank you, Meilin. I'll get right to work."

Meilin then turned to Syaoran, "And I had to wake you up because Uncle wants to see you. I told him about Sirota stealing the picture and he said that he would like to discuss something with you concerning the situation."

The mention of Sirota's name immediately wiped away the embarrassed blushes of Sakura and Syaoran, reminding them of the previous night's events. Syaoran's face hardened in its expression and he replied in a most serious tone, "I have something to discuss with him as well…"

He then stood up from the couch and left the room without saying another word. Meilin followed her brooding cousin, giving Sakura a playful wink before leaving her to her thoughts. Sakura watched Syaoran's retreating form with a rosy tint coloring her cheeks. _'I can't believe I fell asleep on him! And I can't believe he let me…' _ Sakura blushed even more when she realized that she had just woken up from the best sleep that she's had in years.

"Oh, what nonsense! I shouldn't be thinking like that! There is no way he would ever like me!" Sakura tried to rationalize with herself. _'He's much too arrogant to involve himself with a plain girl like me…' _she thought with a hint of sadness.

Shaking her head free from thoughts of Syaoran, Sakura decided to have some breakfast and begin her last day of the task. She knew she had a long day ahead of her. _'I only hope I'll be able to finish all the rooms today…' _she thought as she walked to the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Syaoran made his way to the upper level of Clubs Castle to speak with his uncle (after finally being able to get away from the teasing and nagging Meilin). Though he tried to focus on the matter at hand – Sirota – he simply could not get the image of the sleeping Sakura from his mind. A blush once again found its way to his cheeks.

'_Maybe I really CAN make her warm up to me… She seemed pretty comfortable leaning on my shoulder…' _Habitually, he smirked and decided that he could always bring up this morning to tease her. He liked the idea of making Sakura squirm, but he also like the idea of Sakura being comfortable with him. He admitted that he couldn't remember the last time he slept so contentedly.

He let out a sigh, but this time it was not a sigh of desperation, irritation, or loneliness. He let out a sigh of final acceptance. _'I know I like her… And I know exactly what I have to do to make her mine. But first things first…'_

He stopped in front of a set of large mahogany doors and loudly knocked. After a few moments the doors opened and revealed the figure of a tall, well-dressed man with sleek, long hair tied up in a loose ponytail.

Recognizing his nephew Syaoran, the man opened the doors even wider and gave him a warm smile. Deep indigo eyes sparked behind the glasses that the man wore. "I'm pleased to see you, Syaoran," he greeted, motioning for Syaoran to step inside.

Syaoran entered the large living room of his uncle. "You too, uncle. I heard that you wished to speak to me?" Clow Reed nodded in reply as he closed the door behind him and Syaoran.

"Yes," he finally said, while adjusting the glasses on his nose and walking over to an enormous plush red chair that vaguely resembled a throne, "Meilin has informed me of the trouble Sirota has been causing to one of the new inductees. I wanted to ask you what you planned on doing about the situation."

"Ah," said Syaoran as he sat down in a brown lounging chair that faced Clow's red throne. When the two gentlemen were finally settled in their seats, Clow Reed took a few moments to study the face of his nephew. A small smile formed on his lips for he noticed that Syaoran's eyes betrayed the look of earnest concern.

No longer being able to stand the staring, Syaoran decided to break the silence. "Sirota tried to force himself on Sak - I mean… Miss Kinomoto last night. Luckily, I was around to prevent him from causing her any harm. However, I have serious reasons to believe that he will not stop or regulate his behavior."

Clow listened to Syaoran with the utmost attention, frowning when he heard that Sirota is beginning to show signs of forcefulness. Knowing that he has his uncle's attention, Syaoran continued to voice his anxieties.

"I fear that Sirota will become angry or violent. I don't think it is wise or safe to keep him in the same house as Miss Kinomoto."

Clow slowly nodded, "I see… I think you are right – it would be unwise to keep Sirota so close to the object of his apparent obsession. Then you propose removing the said Miss Kinomoto?"

Syaoran stammered. He didn't mean that at all. Of course he didn't want Sakura to be moved from the castle! He wanted Sirota to be moved! Clow took notice of the way Syaoran was momentarily flabbergasted and smiled._ 'My boy seems to have finally found someone to his liking…'_

Regaining some of his composure, Syaoran began to speak, "No… I do not think we should remove Miss Kinomoto. If she is not in the castle, we will not be able to keep an eye on her safety." _'There,'_ he though, _'That's a good reason! Uncle will buy it…' _

Clow Reed nodded. "But then how do you plan on keeping Sirota away from her? You yourself said that you don't think it safe to keep the two in the same house."

Syaoran hesitated. _'If I tell him I want to move Sirota, he will most likely disagree. Sirota is much too important to us right now… But I don't see another way.'_

"I want to remove Sirota," Syaoran finally stated in a calm and resolved voice. A silence filled the room. Clow Reed was comfortably sitting in his plush, red chair, watching Syaoran begin to squirm under his piercing gaze.

"Impossible. Sirota is much too important to us right now," Clow said in the same resolved manner. _'Knew it,'_ thought Syaoran. But this King wasn't about to give up without a fight.

"I know that his position in the peace talks is important to The Clubs, but I don't think we should put that before the safety and well-being of our members." Syaoran's amber eyes stared into Clow's with a hint of defiance and his uncle immediately understood that no matter what, Syaoran would get his way.

"Alright…" Clow said slowly, "I can see that this is a subject you will not let go off. But I hope you understand the consequences that could arise from the removal of Sirota." Syaoran nodded in apprehension.

"In that case," Clow continued, "I want you to wait." Syaoran was about to open his mouth in protest but Clow cut him off with raising his hand in a gesture to stop him. "The situation is tricky. I want you to wait until Sirota does something bad enough to kick him out of our society. This will also give us some time to take the necessary precautions. I will contact Eriol and relate to him our situation. Hopefully he can alert the Ace of Hearts in England and convince him to join our side in case China will decide to break off the peace talks due to the absence of Sirota."

Syaoran listened to his uncle and decided that he was most likely right. If he is to kick out Sirota, it is important to make sure that his part of the society still has the upper hand. He nodded to show his agreement with Clow's ideas.

Clow continued, "I will also contact our ambassador in America. Hopefully he can convince the Ace of Diamonds to become our ally as well. If Sirota will do something to put Miss Kinomoto in danger, I want the leaders of the other suits to be prepared for the breach of our peace talks with the Spades of China."

Syaoran nodded once again. "And one more thing," Clow then said in conclusion, "I wish to meet Miss Kinomoto."

At this Syaoran stared at his uncle in pure shock. "W-what?" _'Uncle never associates with people from the lower ranks!'_

Clow Reed smiled at the reaction of his nephew. "I wish to meet the girl that is causing all this trouble for our society," he said with a smirk and then added, "But I suppose I COULD just wait until you make her Queen…"

Now Syaoran was simply stunned. "What? H-how did you - ?" He tried his best to find the right words to question his uncle, but found himself tongue-tied. _'It's as if he can read minds! How did he know that I plan to make Sakura the Queen?'_

Clow Reed gave out a quiet chuckle. "You wouldn't go through all this trouble just for anybody. It is clear to me that you took a fancy to the girl. I am glad. Your mother will be happy that you found a girl suitable to your tastes. I only hope she is worthy of the position."

Syaoran took a few moments to compose himself, but could not prevent himself from blushing at the mention of Sakura. "She is worthy, I assure you…" Syaoran mumbled out, trying to hide his red cheeks.

"In that case, I'd like to meet her as soon as possible. This girl must truly be something if she can endanger the peaceful future of The Deck AND conquer the heart of Syaoran Li in less than a week." Clow let out a hearty laugh while Syaoran turned a deeper shade of crimson.

"Although," Clow said with a hint of mischief, "I must admit that Meilin has been kind enough to inform me of all your interactions with this inductee. Therefore, I'm not too surprised to find out that you would like a girl like Miss Kinomoto as your Queen."

'_That Meilin!' _thought Syaoran, _'I'll get her for setting me up like this!' _

While The Ace and The King where thus spending time talking, Sirota paced his room in disquietude. His bedchamber was in complete disarray – his bed was unmade, shattered glass glimmered on the floor, and pieces of paper and books were flying around the space. It looked as if a whirlwind came raging through the room. Even pieces of furniture were knocked over on the floor, creating such a mess that it was almost impossible to walk through the room without getting hurt.

Sirota paced like a wild beast, every once in a while picking up an object – such as a vase or a chair – and throwing it at the wall or at the floor while letting out an animalistic cry.

"WHY!" he screamed, "Why will that damned Li not let me have her!" Sirota picked up a heavy volume of 'Shakespeare's Complete Works' and tossed it at the wall, causing a loud thud to echo through his room.

He clenched his teeth and growled. _'I don't care if he likes her, too! I saw her first! She is mine!' _ "She's MINE!" he yelled, picked up a glass statuette and threw it at his window, shattering both the glass and the statuette.

"And how DARE she say 'No' to me!" he roared, picking up the same book of Shakespeare and throwing it at his door, causing a small dent to form in the wood.

He stood there, in the middle of his wrecked room, and breathed heavily. His hands were clenched into tight fists as he swore to himself, "She will be mine. Whether you like it, Li, or not. Whether SHE likes it or not. She WILL be mine."

Outside Sirota's door, a frightened Meilin stood and listened to him rage. She came to his door after first hearing a crash and eavesdropped ever since. _'This is definitely not good,' _she thought, _'I should alert Syaoran. Sakura might end up seriously hurt.'_

Finally dragging herself away from the madman's door, Meilin ran towards the stairs that led to the upper level. _'I hope Syaoran is still with Uncle. Both of them need to hear this…'_

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	13. Ch 12 Glad to Do It

Muahaha! Another chapter! I want to tahnk all of my reviewers! You guys rock! And I know that the last chapter was a little short, but I just couldn't stand to have you guys wait any longer.So here's the next chapter!

Disclaimer: I don'w own CCS... wthat a shame...

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Previously on Queen of Clubs:**

Finally dragging herself away from the madman's door, Meilin ran towards the stairs that led to the upper level. _'I hope Syaoran is still with Uncle. Both of them need to hear this…'_

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Chapter 12 – Glad to Do It**

After surviving Clow Reed's jokes at the expense of his own love life, Syaoran managed to finally get himself out of his uncle's quarters. Closing the mahogany doors behind himself, Syaoran began walking towards the stairs that led to the bottom floors of the mansion. As soon as he reached the steps he nearly collided with the huffing and puffing Meilin.

"Syaoran," Meilin cried in between wheezes, "Just the man I was looking for!" Meilin leaned on the railing of the stairs for support as she tried to catch her breath.

Syaoran gave his cousin a questioning look, saying, "You seemed to be in a hurry. Is anything wrong?"

"Yes," rasped out Meilin, "I heard Sirota say some pretty crazy stuff while he was by himself. I thought you might want to know…" This got Syaoran's attention. He furrowed his eyebrows and asked, "What did you hear?"

Meilin straightened out her form and faced her cousin with uttermost seriousness. "I heard him yelling out things like 'She's mine!' and 'How dare he not let me have her!' It was pretty intense… I heard crashes and glass shattering from his room. I think he might get violent."

Syaoran's jaw became slightly clenched as he heard Meilin repeat Sirota's outbursts. He took a few moments to subdue his desire to go and fling the creep out of the house right at that second and gave Meilin a quick nod towards his uncle's door. "Go alert uncle. Tell him that Sirota's getting worse and that he should hurry in his contacting of the other ambassadors. I'll go and figure out what to do to protect Sakura."

Syaoran was about to walk of before he heard Meilin give out a loud chuckle. He turned around a raised one of his eyebrows at her. "I hardly think this is a laughing matter, Meilin." Meilin laughed, "You're right – it isn't. I was just happy to hear that you and Sakura are finally on a first-name basis."

Meilin gave her cousin a playful wink before hastily walking to Clow Reed's door. Syaoran stood rooted in his spot, cursing himself for his slip up. A deep blush adorned his cheeks while he continued his way down the stairs to find Sakura and figure out a way to keep her safe from Sirota.

Meanwhile, Sakura was happily putting on the new linen on one of the beds in the new wing. After taking a quick shower and having some breakfast, she felt like she could conquer the world. _'I'll finish this task in no time!' _She had to admit to herself that she was doing pretty well. It was 1 o'clock in the afternoon and she had already completely finished decorating one of the bedrooms (and the bathroom that went along with it) – the room that she painted light green to be themed after the lily flower. Now she was working on the second room - this one done in a pretty peach in the theme of peach blossoms.

Struggling with getting the comforter cover on, Sakura didn't hear someone quietly walk into the room. One by one, the heavy footsteps neared Sakura's preoccupied form. By the time Sakura realized that she was no longer alone, it was too late – the man took one of her hands into his own.

Startled Sakura let out a loud scream. She yanked her hand away and attempted to jump away from the intruder. "AHHHHHH!" Sakura kept yelling as she moved away with her eyes tightly closed in fright.

Noticing that the man isn't following after her gave Sakura the courage to open her eyes and actually look at who the trespasser was. Slowly opening her eyelids, she found two amber eyes peering at her in mock alarm.

Syaoran stood in his spot looking at Sakura as if she had gone mental. "What's with the yelling?" he finally asked, "Can't a guy offer a hand?"

Realizing that she had nothing to fear but Syaoran's wrath, Sakura eased up and gave out a sigh of relief. "Well," she said defensively, "you should know better than to sneak up on me like that! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

She walked over to her previous spot and once again picked up the comforter cover to try and put it on the bedding. "YOU scared ME!" Syaoran retaliated in the same defensive tone, "I was only going to help you get this cover on." With that he took the other end of the comforter at proceeded to help Sakura with putting the cover on it.

"I didn't ask for your help," Sakura mumbled out under her breath while slightly pouting. Syaoran heard her quiet comment and replied with, "You didn't need to. I'm glad to do it."

Sakura's mouth gaped open as she stared at Syaoran while he finished her job of putting on the comforter cover. _'At first I wasn't allowed to ask for help. Then, I could ask him if I wanted to. NOW I don't even have to do it!' _She noticed that Syaoran's cheeks were slightly red from blushing and her heard skipped a beat.

Knowing that her gaze was on him made Syaoran blush even more. He cleared his throat and then added to his previous statement by saying, "Unless you don't want my help…"

It was then Sakura's turn to blush for she really DID want his help. It's not that she needed help to finish the task, but after spending time with Syaoran when he was helping her hang up the curtains, she could not help but wish she could once again be around him.

"N-no," she stammered out, her cheeks flushed in a deep pink, "I'd love to have your help."

A slightly embarrassing silence filled the room while the couple stood and blushed at one another. Being too nervous from the tension, Sakura broke the hush by asking, "Did you really come just to help me?"

"No," was Syaoran's curt reply, "I also came to tell you that Sirota's acting up. Meilin heard him throwing things and yelling in his room. We fear that he might become violent towards you."

"WHAT! What do you mean he might become violent!" Sakura was practically loosing her mind from the horror. Syaoran walked closer to her and put his hands on her shoulders in an attempt to calm her down.

"I know this sounds pretty bad, but I don't want you to worry. Meilin is currently with The Ace and I'm sure they are already in the process of figuring out how to get rid of Sirota without much conflict. And in the meantime, I will keep you company until your friends return tomorrow. Sirota will not dare to come near you if I'm around. Nor will he try to attack you when you're with your friends."

"So you'll be with me the entire day?" Sakura asked meekly. The thought of spending the entire day with The King no longer repulsed her. In fact, it seemed like a rather good prospect. Yet she was still worried about what Syaoran said about Sirota.

"Yes. I'll be with you the entire day. And I would also like to ask you to spend the night on the fourth floor of the castle – the Royals floor. I think it would be best for you to stay there so that I can be nearby in case something happens."

Sakura's heart made another leap. Not only was she to spend the entire day with Syaoran, but she would even be sleeping close to him! _'I wonder why he's so concerned… and nice! It's hard to think that only a few days ago we were going at each other's throats.'_

"Thank you," she finally said to Syaoran. And then, sweetly smiling and looking into his eyes she sincerely added, "You're so kind…"

Syaoran's entire face colored into a deep shade of maroon. He let go of her shoulders and looked away, mumbling out, "I-I just don't want you to get hurt…"

Sakura blushed as well. Syaoran's genuine concern for her was slowly getting him a large part of her heart. Yet while her heart seemed to warm up to him more and more, Sakura's mind was confused. _'Why is he suddenly so nice to me!'_

Knowing that the silence was again filling the room, Syaoran tried to quickly change the subject. "So… Since I'll be hanging around you for the day anyway, I might as well help you out with your task. What should I do?" He looked at her, expecting her to give him a decent job to do to occupy his time.

Sakura looked at him with a nervous expression. "A-are you sure you want to help me? I don't really have that much work left… I - " her babbling was cut short by Syaoran himself.

"I already told you that I'm glad to do it. So just tell me what you need help with and I'll do it." He stuffed his hands into the side pockets of his khaki slacks in a gesture of slight irritation. _'Jeez… Can't she just accept my help when I offer it?'_

Feeling that she would be much worse off if she tried to persuade Li that he didn't need to help her, Sakura decided to take advantage of his niceness. "Well… If you really don't mind – There are paintings that need to be hung on the walls. It would be a big help if you could hang them up for me. I'm afraid I'm not the best person to use a hammer."

She let out a sheepish giggle and walked to get Syaoran a hammer and nails to hang up the pictures. Returning, she continued, "The pictures are already sorted out in each room. You can either ask me where to hang them, or decide for yourself – I'm sure you'll make it look nice." She gave Syaoran a bright smile, handing him the hammer and nails.

While she was handing him the things, their hands touched and both of them blushed at the contact. Syaoran tightly gripped the hammer in his hand and prepared to get to work. "I'll get started then... But I must say," he suggestively said before moving away, "this sounds like a pretty easy task for a strong guy like me. I suggest that you think of another chore for me. I'm pretty sure this will take me no time to finish." He gave her a confident grin while Sakura only rolled her eyes.

"Humble, are we?" she said with playful sarcasm, "In that case, I'll try to find a decent task for you, oh Manliest of all Men!" He gave her a wink and another smug grin before he exited the room, adding, "That's what I like to hear…"

Sakura blushed at his playful actions. _'Did we just flirt!' _Her mind replayed Syaoran's wink. _'Yup… Definitely flirting.' _Her heart skipped a beat, but she decided to ignore it and go back to her task.

After about half an hour of working on the Peach Blossom room, Sakura happily declared it finished and decided to move on to the room with lavender walls – The Lilac room. When she entered that bedroom, she noticed that the paintings she chose to decorate it with were already neatly hung on the wall. _'Li did a pretty good job…' _She stared at the pictures before a loud tapping on the room's window caused her to break her stare.

Surprised by the sudden sound, Sakura let out a loud yelp, but realizing that it was only Takahiro – the inductee in charge of the gardens – she sighed and went to open the window. _'I really need to calm down. I'm way too jumpy!'_

Right when Sakura got to the window a startled Syaoran ran into the room. "What's wrong!" he yelled, rushing over to the surprised Sakura. Se gave him a sheepish smile saying, "Oh, nothing. It's just that Takahiro knocked on the window and scared me. I guess I'm a little jumpy today…" she turned around and opened the window for the short frame of Takahiro.

The inductee brightly smiled at Sakura and Syaoran saying, "Sorry to have scared you." Sakura nervously laughed and leaned out the window to better speak with Takahiro, "Don't worry about it… Did you want something?"

Takahiro's smile only brightened at Sakura's question. "Actually, I have something for you…" He then bent down and came up again holding several small bouquets of flowers. "Seiriu told me that you were decorating the wing in the theme of flowers. He also told me which ones you'll be using for inspiration. I thought it would be nice to have some real flowers in the room for tomorrow, so I allowed myself to go through the gardens and pick the flowers I know you could use for decoration."

Takahiro then presented Sakura the beautiful arrangements of lilies, roses, peach blossoms, lilac, and peonies. Sakura gasped and gratefully took the flowers from Takahiro. "Oh, you shouldn't have!" she cried.

"I just thought you might like the idea…" Takahiro said, a small blush forming on his cheeks. "I love the idea! Thank you so much!" Sakura gave Takahiro one of her sweetest smiles.

Yet the Kodak moment was ruined by a loud cough sounding from behind Sakura. "Hoee?" Sakura said as she turned around and found Syaoran coldly glaring at the poor little Takahiro.

"Yes. Thank you for your concern, Mr. Mimoko," Syaoran said while walking up to the window, "Now go back to your task." With that he pulled Sakura out of the window with one hand while using the other to slam the window shut.

Both Sakura and Takahiro looked at Syaoran as if he was from another planet. I planet where manners obviously didn't exist. Not wanting to anger The King, Takahiro quickly scrambled away from the glass, while Sakura gave Syaoran a quick glare.

"That was rude," she said accusingly. Syaoran returned her glare and retaliated, "He should be spending his time working on his task, not flirting with other inductees."

"Flirting? He wasn't flirting! He was just being nice! Besides, why do you care?" Sakura asked defensively. Syaoran stood still at her question. He couldn't just tell her that he cared because he was jealous and didn't like another male to be in a five mile perimeter of her.

Sakura caught Li's hesitation and decided to take the chance and play it up. "Jealous?" she asked him, raising one of her eyebrows. She expected him to fire back with a scoff or argument, yet to her surprise Syaoran simply turned away and said, "Just get back to work."

Sakura stood rooted in her space as she watched Li exit the room. _'He didn't deny it!' _Syaoran, in the meantime, was thinking of how to make sure every guy in the society knew that he claimed Sakura as his. _'This will be difficult since she's not technically mine…' _he thought in dejection, _'I'll need to find a way to get them to back off.'_

Luckily for Syaoran, he wouldn't need to do anything to make sure every other male in the castle knew that Sakura was his for at the same time Meilin was busily working on something that would make that fact clear to the entire society.

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	14. Ch 13 Third Time's A Charm!

**I HAVE OVER 100 REVIEWS!** _:does the happiest of all happy dances:_  
I would like to thank ALL of my reviewers - You guys have no idea how much your comments mean to me! _:sniffle:_

Anyways! Here's another chapter! I hope you guys still enjoy reading my story!

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS... But the plot is pretty much mine! _:grin:_

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Previously on Queen of Clubs:**

Luckily for Syaoran, he wouldn't need to do anything to make sure every other male in the castle knew that Sakura was his for at the same time Meilin was busily working on something that would make that fact clear to the entire society.

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Chapter 13 – Third Time's A Charm!**

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With Syaoran's help, the finishing touches to the rooms Sakura had to decorate were done in a few hours. Walking through the rooms, Sakura made sure that every detail was in place. 

"Lily room, Peach Blossom room, Lilac room, Rose room, Peony room…" Sakura kept naming the themes of the bedrooms as she walked through them, ending in the room with pink wall color that she tastefully decorated under the theme of peonies. She smiled happily at her work. _'Well… Not just MY work…'_ her thoughts trailed as she turned around to face Syaoran, who has been following her the entire time.

"Yes, yes… Peony room. Only a moron wouldn't get the theme. Done now?" Despite liking to spend so much time with Sakura, Li was beginning to feel bored. After hanging up all the pictures he had nothing else to do, since Sakura insisted that she could finish everything else herself. And now that she was obviously done he wanted to do nothing more than to go to the kitchen and eat.

Sakura gave Li a slight frown. "I just want to make sure that everything looks fine. It's easy for you to say "done" – it's not YOUR task. So don't be so impatient and let me do my final check-over." With that Sakura turned to go to the lounge of the new wing to make sure everything in that room was in place.

Syaoran watched the inductee stand in the middle of the gold-painted room as she looked over every detail of her surroundings. He, on the other hand, paid no attention to the décor. He silently stood in the doorway leading from the Peony room to the lounge and stared at Sakura as she continued to criticize her own work. He watched her walk over to the couch and give the pillows a last fluff. Unknowing to himself, a small smile formed on his lips as he watched her striving to attain perfection.

Sakura fluffed the pillows on the couch and tried to rearrange them one last time. She moved a pillow to the left side of the couch then to the right, figuring it was better were it was before. Yet when she placed it back, she changed her mind again and was about to move in back to the left when she felt a slight touch at her shoulder.

She turned her head and saw that Syaoran gently put one arm around her shoulders while his other arm removed the pillow from her hands. "There's no need to worry about such trifles," he whispered into her ear, making Sakura tingle all over, "Everything looks great." Syaoran gave Sakura one of his rare smiles and she felt herself practically melting into his arms.

Syaoran placed the pillow onto the couch, still keeping his other arm around Sakura. The fact that she hasn't slapped him or told him to back off really gave him courage. _'Perhaps I actually have a chance…' _he thought as he looked into her deep green eyes.

When Syaoran's amber gaze landed on Sakura's face, her heart rate immediately began to speed up. A slight blush appeared on her cheeks as she cutely mumbled out, "Y-you really think it looks good?" His face inched closer to hers as he huskily whispered out, "Stunning…"

With their faces only inches away from each other, Sakura found it difficult to breathe. Yet it wasn't the type of difficulty she experienced when Sirota was coming closer to her. She recalled that when Sirota tried to get close to her, she wouldn't be able to breathe because of sheer fear. In this situation, however, she noticed she couldn't breathe because she was afraid that a single move on her part will somehow ruin the moment.

'_Do I want to kiss him?' _she asked herself. Her eyes traveled to his smooth lips and lingered there. _'Yes…' _her mind answered for her and she felt her body inch towards his as well.

Noticing her slightly moving towards him, Syaoran's hear began to race as much as Sakura's. _'Yes!' _his mind cheered, _'She likes me!' _Despite himself he felt the color in his cheeks rise and a slight smile form on his lips. He looked deep into her eyes, knowing that they were mere seconds away from non-verbally admitting that they liked each other.

FLASH!

Both Sakura and Syaoran blinked, trying to realize what just happened, their faces froze still in their places. Suddenly another bright light flashed at them. Turning their heads to the source of the light, they found an overly-happy Meilin once again snapping away with her camera.

"Oh, no! Don't stop!" she laughed while she continued to take pictures of the now-beet-red couple. "Tomoyo is going to LOVE these pictures!" Meilin continued giggling.

Quite embarrassed, Syaoran let go of Sakura's shoulder and roared, "MEILIN! Stop it this instant!" Yet Meilin paid no attention to her cousin, and stopped only when she realized she was out of film.

"Aww, shucks! Now I ran out! Oh well! Better go and have these developed!" Meilin chirped as she quickly made for the exit of the lounge. It was then that Sakura realized that if her friend Tomoyo ever laid eyes on those pictures, she would never hear the end of it. Under the threat of endless teasing from Tomoyo, Sakura lunged at Meilin, getting her right before she was able to slip through the door.

"Oh, no you won't!" Sakura yelled at Meilin, trying to struggle the camera out of Meilin's hand. "Don't just stand there," Sakura then yelled towards Syaoran, "Grab the camera!" But before Syaoran got to them, Meilin kicked herself out of Sakura's grip and scrambled out of the room, running out of the mansion as fast as a road runner.

Sakura sat on the floor, panting and looking at the small trail of dust that Meilin left behind as she ran away. "Much help YOU are," she mockingly glared at Syaoran, who only gave her a sheepish smile.

"You don't know Meilin like I do," Syaoran said while he helped her up, "She'd never let us have that camera. She'd fight off ten guys to make sure Tomoyo got those pictures. I'm afraid you and I stood no chance."

Sakura sighed in defeat, "Well, I had to try… I just hope that Tomoyo won't tease me too much about it…" Syaoran gave her a sympathetic smile, but then his smile faded. "What is it?" Sakura asked when she noticed his sudden change of expression.

"I just hope that Tomoyo will be the only one that Meilin plans to give those pictures to…" he said in a grave tone. Sakura only gulped.

In the meantime, Sirota has stopped his raging and solemnly stood in the middle of his trashed room. His haggard breathing calmed down and his maroon eyes only scowled at an invisible entity. He walked over to his closet and retrieved a shining object from its depths. Bringing the object up to his eyes, an evil grin formed on his thin lips.

Cold steel lay in his hands. He looked the blade he was holding up and down, enjoying its smooth and sharp outline. He then drew the knife across his palm, breaking his own skin and causing small droplets of warm blood to trickle down his arms. His malicious smile never faded from his face.

"Let's see if you'll say no to this, my dearest Cherry Blossom…" he chuckled out as he held the blade close to his chest.

After getting over Meilin's victory, Sakura and Syaoran made their way towards the kitchen. Since they did not have much to eat that day, they decided that the first thing they should do after finishing Sakura's task is to get a bite to eat. Thus, walking into the kitchen, both of them lunged straight towards the fridge.

"Hey! Out of my way! I'm hungry!" Syaoran playfully yelled at Sakura, jokingly nudging her away from the fridge. Sakura, however, squeezed herself by Syaoran and opened the fridge door, looking for something decent to eat. "No way," she said over her shoulder, "I'm hungry, too!"

Being at least an entire head taller than Sakura, Syaoran towered over her slouched down form and tried to reach over her to grab a giant bottle of apple juice. Sakura noticed the direction Syaoran's hand was taking and decided to play with him. She quickly backed up, causing her butt to push Li's body away from the fridge.

"Hey!" Syaoran screamed, but then he realized with what part of her body Sakura pushed him away. At first he blushed, but then a sly smirk appeared on his face. While Sakura was busy rummaging through the contents of the fridge, one of Syaoran's strong hands found its way around her waist. She momentarily stopped her actions and felt Syaoran's grip on her tighten, making her lower body to be completely pushed up against his.

Syaoran then once again reached for the bottle of apple juice with his unoccupied hand. He noticed that Sakura was no longer looking at anything in the fridge and smiled. He tightened his grip and pushed away from the fridge, pulling Sakura along with him. He then closed the door of the fridge and whispered into Sakura's ear, "Perhaps you'll find something for us in the freezer."

He then let go of Sakura's waist and went to set down the juice on the kitchen counter. Sakura, in the meantime, opened the freezer and decided to look for something in there. _'He certainly is forward…' _she thought while moving away a box of frozen waffles, _'Yet I like it…' _She continued to look through the freezer until her eyes landed on a large box of frozen pizza. She took the box out and closed the door of the freezer behind her. When she turned around she found Syaoran holding out a glass of apple juice to her.

"Thirsty?" he asked, handing her the glass and taking the pizza box out of her hands. Sakura took the glass, not really paying attention to anything but Syaoran's half-smile. _'I like it…' _her thoughts continued. "I like him…"

Syaoran's eyes darted up from the box and stared into Sakura's. "What did you say?" His lips curled into a satisfied smile. Sakura's eyes widened when she realized she said the last part of her thoughts out loud. She opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out. Syaoran laughed at her speechlessness as he set the box of pizza on the counter and moved closer to the stationary form of Sakura.

"Did you say 'I like him'?" he asked, knowing very well that's exactly what slipped out of her mouth. Sakura then regained her ability to speak and backed away from Li's nearing body.

"I-I... I said… I said I like… Pizza! Yes! Pizza! I love pizza!" She practically screamed her lie and rushed over to the box of her apparently beloved food. _'Smooth, Sakura. Real smooth…' _her own thoughts mocked her.

Syaoran quirked and eyebrow at Sakura, letting her know that he didn't buy her excuse. "No," he slowly drew out, "I clearly recall you saying 'I like him'." He then walked towards her once more and ended up cornering her between himself and the counter. "Well – I – I mean – I – SO!" Sakura finally gave up, not being able to find any other plausible excuse. A bright red blush was now covering her face out of embarrassment as well as out of the realization that she was now standing so close to Syaoran.

Syaoran moved his face closer to Sakura and suggestively murmured, "And may I ask you why you were looking directly at me when you said that?" Sakura's eyes looked up to find Syaoran staring at her with expectation. Suddenly she realized that because they were standing so close to each other she could not only hear her heart, but also the rapid hear beat of Li.

"I…" was the only thing Sakura managed to stutter out before their faces began to inch towards each other. For the second time that day Sakura and Syaoran found their lips seconds away from touching. And for the second time hat day they were rudely interrupted.

"Ahem," sounded a loud voice from the kitchen entryway. Syaoran quickly moved away from Sakura to glare at the person who spoiled his chance at kissing Sakura. He saw a rather flustered Naoko standing in the doorway.

"S-sorry to interrupt, but… I was kind of thirsty…" Sakura's friend blushed in a deep maroon, as did Sakura. "N-no problem, Naoko! You weren't interrupting anything! Want some apple juice?" Sakura tried to act like nothing happened and failed miserably, since her voice came out sounding a bit squeaky. Syaoran frowned when he herd Sakura tell her friend that there was nothing to interrupt. _'What does she mean by saying that Naoko wasn't interrupting! I was so close to having her admit she likes me!' _

Resisting the urge of glaring at one of Sakura's closest friends, Syaoran picked up the pizza box and focused his attention on reading the heating instructions. Sakura in the meantime, poured a glass of apple juice for her friend and proceeded chatting.

"So… What are you up tonight, Naoko?" Sakura asked, trying to make small talk.

"Well," Naoko replied, "All the other inductees and I are finished with our tasks so we were just sitting around in the lounge. I think all of us will just be relaxing in there tonight. We've had a pretty rough week – I think we deserve a night of rest."

Sakura smiled, "Great! Then me and Li will prepare a pizza and come join you guys… I mean… That is, if you want to come, Li. I'll be around a bunch of people, so you won't have to keep me company." Sakura looked at him with a hint of hope in her eyes. Syaoran looked up from the pizza box and Sakura quick glance before blushing and turning back to the directions. "I'll come," he simply stated. Sakura smiled and turned back to Naoko. "Great! Then we'll see you in a few minutes!"

Just as Naoko was about to exit the kitchen, Sakura remembered her promise to Loda. _'That's right! I was supposed to get Naoko to talk to him!'_

"Naoko, wait up!" she screamed, making Naoko stop dead in her tracks. Sakura walked over to her friend and asked, "Is Loda hanging out in the lounge as well?"

Naoko's cheeks slightly colored when she nodded in approval. Sakura noticed this timid behavior and thought, _'This is going to be easier than I thought!' _She smiled at her friend and gave her a playful nudge, "Perhaps you should talk to him. I think he'd like to get to know you better."

Naoko's eyes lit up behind her thick glasses. "You think so?" she asked a little too eagerly. Sakura nodded her head, "For sure!" Naoko gave her friend a smile and practically skipped back to the lounge.

Sakura then walked over to Syaoran, a big grin plastered on her face. "What was that all about?" Syaoran asked her with a raised eyebrow. Sakura smiled up at him and answered, "I promised Loda I'd get Naoko to talk to him."

Syaoran rolled his eyes at Sakura's attempt to be a matchmaker. "Girls…" he muttered and then began to take the pizza out of the box. Sakura only gave him a mock glare and turned on the oven to pre-heat it.

Half an hour later, Sakura and Syaoran walked into the lounge carrying a steaming-hot pizza. Everyone in the lounge – namely all of the inductees and Yamazaki – looked at the newcomers and smiled. Yamazaki jumped up from the couch and ran over to Li, screaming, "PIZZA!" Syaoran, however, dodged his hungry friend and yelled, "No way! Make your own food!" Yamazaki pouted, but did not cease to bug him for a slice of the steaming dish.

While Yamazaki thus pestered Syaoran, Sakura took a look around the room. To her satisfaction, she saw Loda and Naoko sitting and talking together in the far corner of the room. Sakura smiled, _'I'm glad it's working out for them…' _Her smiled, however, faded when she noticed the other two female inductees giving her cold glares.

Sakura blinked at them and wondered what she could have done to upset them. She then remembered that the blond-haired girl – Mina Yamaguchi – was the girl who glared at her when they first introduced themselves to the society. _'What's her problem?' _Sakura thought with a slight frown. Deciding to not waste time on the bleached blonde, Sakura found a seat on the couch and prepared to eat.

As she was settling in her place, Sakura noticed that Tori Sutsime – the inductee who was in charge of all the cars for the week – was making his way to her seat. He had a bright smile on his face as he neared her, but before he could make it to Sakura he was cut off by none other than Syaoran Li. The King gave Tori a long and hard glare before he walked over and took the seat next to Sakura. Tori was left standing in his spot, too afraid to move.

Sakura watched the scene with amusement and bewilderment. When Syaoran finally took his place beside her, she wasted no time to ask him, "Why are you always so rude to other guys?"

Syaoran did not look up fro his plate. "I'm not rude to all guys," he grumbled out before taking a bite of his pizza. "Well," Sakura continued, "You seem to be pretty rude to every one of my guy friends…"

Syaoran took his time retaliating, pretending that he was chewing on his bite of pizza. Finally he swallowed and said, "I don't like the way they look at you." Sakura stared at him, not knowing what exactly he meant, but before she could ask him any further questions, Syaoran quietly declared, "Only I'm allowed to look at you like that."

Sakura was taken aback by his forward pronouncement. Syaoran then looked up from his plate and locked Sakura's green eyes with his amber. They sat there, silently, while Sakura processed his last statement.

Seeing his chance, Syaoran decided to go for it. _'I've had enough of these guys trying to hit on Sakura! It's time to let these inductees know she's off-limits!'_

With these thoughts, Syaoran's face inched closer to Sakura's. A blush appeared on both of their cheeks and before Sakura had time to react Syaoran's soft and smoldering lips covered hers in a gentle, yet powerful embrace.

Like they say: Third time's a charm!

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	15. Ch 14 I THINK I

Muahaha! I am back with another chapter! Sorry it's taking me so long to update... But I'm trying! I hope you guys still enjoy the story! o

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS!

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Previously on Queen of Clubs:**

With these thoughts, Syaoran's face inched closer to Sakura's. A blush appeared on both of their cheeks and before Sakura had time to react Syaoran's soft and smoldering lips covered hers in a gentle, yet powerful embrace.

**

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Chapter 14 – I THINK I…**

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Sakura's body froze at the contact with Syaoran's lips and the world seemed to have come to a complete stop. Every aspect of her surroundings became a mere blur as she was only able to focus on the delicate feeling of the kiss. 

_Thump thump thump._

Her heart raced and her eyes widened in shock. As if on cue, every other person in the room turned to look at them and froze, creating an absolute stillness which only highlighted the deafening beating of Sakura's heart.

The reactions from their spectators were as diverse as their personalities. Takahashi's mouth opened and closed a couple of times before he mastered to choke out an articulate "HOLY CRAP!" This explosion put the room in motion.

Naoko and Loda, still comfortably sitting in their own little corner, gave each other knowing smiles and grinned at the sight of their common friend Sakura locking lips with their King.

Mina, the blond bombshell who seemed to have grown a habit of glaring at poor Sakura, began to have a nervous twitch in her left eye. After a few seconds of gaping at the couple, she broke down and screeched in a high-pitched voice, "I can't believe this!" She then began to feverishly pound on a couch pillow while her friend Hitomi tried her best to calm her down.

The other inductees seemed to have lost all ability to speak. No one understood how it came to be that The King and Sakura, who one week ago seemed to be barely able to stand each other, were now kissing in front of them. Takahashi, realizing that Meilin isn't in the room to witness the occasion, ran around in circles before sprinting out of the lounge, screaming, "I have to go get Meilin!"

In the midst of all this turmoil, however, Syaoran's lips stayed firmly planted on Sakura's. On their initial contact, he was mentally praying, _'Please don't let her kill me. Please don't let her kill me…' _Sensing that Sakura as not only NOT killing him, but not even pushing away, he seemed to take courage. Laying his plate of pizza aside, he moved his right hand up to Sakura's face and gently caressed her cheek.

What was to be a simple kiss to claim Sakura as his own, however, soon became much more than Syaoran had bargained for. Never before had he experience such an intoxicating sensation. Unable to restrain himself, Syaoran slowly closed his eyes and using the hand that still rested in Sakura's cheek, he tenderly pulled her face closer to him.

Sakura, finally recovering from the shock, felt herself being pulled into a closer embrace. She had half her mind made up on pushing Li away and slapping him, but she felt her own mind give into Syaoran's gentle touch. Her eyelids began to droop and soon the only thing she sensed was the feel of Syaoran's lips and hand.

Sensing that Sakura is giving in to his kiss made Syaoran weak. He felt her body loose its tension and slowly lean towards his. An unbearable need began to form in his chest, making feel as if he would die if he did not get Sakura closer. Scared of his own emotions, Syaoran decided to take control of himself and slowly pulled away, though he was still incapable to contain his body's barely audible groan of protest.

Although he did not like it, he knew he had to end the kiss before he would go even further. Hearing the uproar around him, he knew that his mission to let everybody know that Sakura was his was accomplished. What he needed to do now was to talk to Sakura to let HER into that little piece of information. Gradually opening his eyes, Syaoran realized that breaking the kiss was not only reasonable, but necessary.

The entire lounge was still in a state of utter excitement. The male inductees were now chatting away while Takahashi kept on screaming out phrases of his great disbelief. Naoko and Loda were quietly laughing at the scene. Mina was in a greatly angered state; she was obviously trying to go over to Syaoran and Sakura to break them up and therefore had to be restrained by her friend Hitomi.

After taking in this scenery, Syaoran fearfully brought his eyes back to Sakura, who was now sitting with a frightening look on her face. One glance at her angry eyes and Syaoran knew that the killing was about to begin. Bracing himself, he opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Sakura's dangerously low voice.

"And what do you, your highness, think gives you the right to kiss me?" The question she posed was biting coldness, accompanied with an icy glare, and Syaoran felt himself shiver.

Not getting an immediate response from Syaoran, Sakura's eyes narrowed even more. _'So he thinks he can just do what he pleases? He thinks that he can just play with me!'_ Although she was angry at his self-centered behavior, she was even angrier at herself. _'I can't believe I let this jerk kiss me!'_

"Well, guess what, Li" she then spat out, "You can find yourself another girl to toy with!" Harshly getting herself up from the couch Sakura then stood up and quickly walked out of the room, not giving Syaoran another look.

It was now Syaoran's turn to speechlessly open and close his mouth in shock. "Toy with!" he cried out after Sakura, "What the hell are you talking about!" He sprang up from his seat and ran after the fuming inductee. _'This girl is out of her mind!' _he thought, _'Why in heaven's name would I kiss her if I didn't like her?'_

Hearing the rest of the crowd begin to move after him, he turned back and sent them a warning glare. "DON'T come after us!" The inductees and Takahashi didn't need to be told twice, as they pretended to occupy themselves with other things – the TV, the pizza, the interesting pattern of the wallpaper…

Making sure that they would be undisturbed, Syaoran picked up his pace and followed Sakura, who was loudly stomping down the hallway that led to the new wing.

Catching up with Sakura, Syaoran began his attempt at reconciling with her. "Hey," he said, "hold on! You think I was just TOYING with you?" Sakura gave out a very un-ladylike snort. In her most bitter voice, Sakura replied, "Please, Li, don't try to say otherwise. I know how you are!"

Now Syaoran began to get angry himself. "Know how I am! Please, do enlighten me to the nature of my own being, oh mighty psychic! I seem to have missed the knowledge of my own self!" Every single phrase that came out of his mouth was followed with over exaggerated hand gestures that only added to his dripping sarcasm.

Sakura stopped and glared at Li, saying, "You know what I mean! I know the way you are with girls!" Syaoran walked in front of her and forcefully asked, "And how AM I with girls?"

Sakura seemed to take a second to figure out how to phrase her words and came up with, "You HATE them!"

Syaoran blinked at Sakura's angry face. "Hate them?" he repeated with confusion plastered all over his countenance. "Yes," Sakura cried out, "You HATE them! And therefore you had no reason to be kissing me!"

It was then that a laugh escaped Syaoran's throat, much to the full surprise of Sakura. "Hate them," he repeated once more, "Where in the world did you get THAT nonsense from?"

"It is NOT nonsense," Sakura replied defiantly, "Takahashi told be about your girl-hating ways on my first night here." Syaoran smugly smirked hearing Sakura's comment. "So you talk about me?" Sakura glared at him and chose to ignore his comment. She continued, "Takahashi told me all about how mean you were to the previous queens! And I see how rude you are to Meilin! And then there's the way you treated ME when we first met! You hate girls! I don't think it's possible for you to like them!"

Sakura only huffed when the reply she got from Syaoran was another hearty laugh. Still grinning, Syaoran replied, "I was mean to the queens my uncle chose for me because they were nothing but a bunch of money-hungry bimbos. I'm rude to Meilin only in joke. She knows that I'm only teasing – that's why she does it back! And I was rude to you in the beginning because… Well…"

She had him there. He had no good reason for being mean to her so he truthfully said, "I don't know. I don't know why I was harsh on you in the beginning. But the emphasis shouldn't be on that, anyway. It's should not be 'I was MEAN to you', it should be 'I WAS mean to you'." He then took the opportunity and stepped closer to Sakura, putting his hands firmly on her shoulders. A kind and hopeful smile appeared on his face, "And I've been trying my best to be nice to you lately, haven't I?"

Sakura looked into Syaoran's amber eyes and found that he seemed to be hiding nothing. "W-why?" she stammered out. Syaoran kept his kind smile, "Why what?" Sakura kept her eyes on his face, studying every single of his reactions. "Why are you being nice to me?"

A moment passed in complete silence and Sakura began to think that Li would not answer. Suddenly, she saw him move his face closer to her own, making their foreheads touch. His smile widened. "Because I like you," was his simple reply.

Syaoran was about to lean in closer to give Sakura another kiss, but he was sadly interrupted by the earsplitting screech of Meilin's voice.

"YOU KISSED HER!" Meilin yelled as her small frame suddenly appeared a few feet away from the couple. Sakura and Syaoran jumped away from each other in fright and dumbly stared at Meilin.

"You kissed her, knowing that I wasn't in the room to take a picture!" Meilin hollered in mock-fury. Sakura nearly fell over when she heard Meilin's reason for her anger. Syaoran cocked an eyebrow and calmly replied, "I'm sorry, dearest cousin, but your photographic duties were the last thing on my mind when I decided to kiss Sakura."

Meilin smiled, hearing Syaoran's response. "So," she said with a smug grin, "What's the deal between you two?" She playfully wiggled her eyebrows up and down, causing Sakura to forget all about blushing and give out a small chuckle.

"Well," Syaoran said once again taking Sakura by her shoulders and pushing her in the direction of a nearby door, "we were just about to discuss that. So, if you don't mind…" He then quickly opened the door, pushed Sakura inside, jumped in after her, and slammed the door shut.

Meilin gaped at the empty hallway, momentarily unable to decide what she should do next. Then, a deliciously evil smile appeared on her face. "My plan will work perfectly…" She then happily skipped away into the direction of her room.

In the meantime, Sakura was doing her best to remain calm. After being pushed into a room – which turned out to be a small bedroom – she found herself once again alone with Li.

His words still rang in her ears. _'Because I like you…' _ She blushed when she saw him look at her. Her body filled with a slight hint of panic since she had absolutely no idea what to say.

'_What do I do! What do I doooo!' _her mind howled. She tried to calm herself down, but failed miserably. Syaoran, noticing Sakura's anxious expression, sighed and ran a hand through his already-messy brown hair in a gesture of discomfort. _'Great. I finally tell her I like her and that gives her a nervous breakdown!' _A displeased growl escaped his throat.

"Look," he said, turning away from her so that she would not be able to see his face, "I didn't mean to freak you out by telling you I like you." He had to make a slight pause to collect himself, not believing himself that he was actually being rejected by a little inductee.

Sakura, in the meantime, stood rooted to her place and watched Syaoran struggle with his words. She could then tell that he really must like her. All of the sudden the high and mighty Syaoran Li was at a loss of words. She couldn't help but smile at the thought of being the one to make him so flustered.

"I don't want you to feel awkward," Syaoran finally said, "It's not like you have to like me back…" Another pause. _'Damn it!' _he mentally cursed, _'Why can't I just play this off as nothing!' _He was about to continue when he made the mistake of looking back at Sakura's face.

She was standing in her spot, looking at him with wide eyes. He noticed that her nervousness seemed to have disappeared, which gave him enough courage to face her completely. He sighed once more and continued, "If you don't want to say anything in reply, that's fine with me…"

His last phrase was said in such a low voice that Syaoran was afraid she might have not heard him at all, especially since for a few moments Sakura remained completely motionless.

Not being able to bear Sakura's silence, Syaoran thought it would be best for him to leave her to her thought. _'Obviously she DOESN'T want to reply…' _he thought bitterly, angry at her rejection. With that he made his way towards the exit of the bedroom. But before he could turn the knob to open the door, Sakura spoke.

"I…" her voice was quiet and somewhat reserved. If the previous silence that filled the room wasn't so staggering, Syaoran wouldn't have heard her at all. But he did, and her soft voice made him stop every one of his actions. His heart began to race and he strongly held on to the doorknob.

"I…" Sakura continued, her voice now a little louder, "I think I like you too."

Syaoran thought that he would crush the doorknob with the force of happiness that suddenly flowed through his entire body. He was about to go over and kiss her when a peculiarity in her response hit him in realization. He turned to face her and hollered out, "You THINK you like me?"

Sakura flinched at his outcry and slowly nodded. "Sorry," Syaoran apologized for his over-excited outburst while he walked over to her, "But what exactly do you mean by you THINK you like me?"

"Well," Sakura said, "I mean I'm not sure… I mean, I think I like you, but… Then I remember how rude you were to me in the beginning or how self-centered and cocky you can be…"

Getting slightly offended by Sakura's comments, Syaoran turned on the defensive and cried, "Hey! You're no treat either, you know!" But Sakura only laughed and said, "See! How do you expect me to like you when you're always picking on me?"

Syaoran smirked, "You know you like it." Sakura blushed and looked away from his smiling face. Syaoran noticed this action and it completely restored his confidence. Walking over to her, he placed one of his arms around her shoulder while cockily saying, "Now that I know you like me, I know I can have you as my girlfriend in no time."

Sakura frowned at his arrogance and tried to get away from his embrace. "Pfft," she scoffed in reply, "I said I THINK I like you. I could very well be mistaken."

Syaoran gave her a wolfish grin, "You'll be mine in a week." Staring into his amber eyes, Sakura could practically feel the confidence oozing out of him. Rolling her eyes, she walked to the exit of the bedroom, saying over her shoulder, "In your dreams, Li."

Before she opened the door, however, Syaoran got a hold of her, turned her to face him, and crashed his lips down onto hers. Giving her a long and tender kiss, he loosened his grip on her and said with the same confident smirk, "I think we're too intimate for the formalities. Call me Syaoran."

Madly blushing, Sakura pushed herself away from Syaoran's muscular embrace and scrambled out of the room, leaving an all-to-amused Syaoran to his thoughts.

'_A week,' _he thought, _'A week, and I'll make her KNOW she likes me.'_

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	16. Ch 15 Name Calling

It's Saturday! And - just like I promised - it's another chapter! YAY!   
Well, I hope you'll enjoy reading it. I spend an entire day writing it at work (yes! AT work! lol) Ah, the dedication...

Disclaimer: I think I've mentioned this before, but... I don't own CCS!

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Previously on Queen of Clubs:**

Madly blushing, Sakura pushed herself away from Syaoran's muscular embrace and scrambled out of the room, leaving an all-to-amused Syaoran to his thoughts.

'_A week,' _he thought, _'A week, and I'll make her KNOW she likes me.'_

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Chapter 15 – Name Calling**

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Sakura walked through the dark halls of the mansion at a quick pace, trying to escape the lingering sound of Syaoran's voice. Her beautifully-arched eyebrows were slightly furrowed as she paced towards the nearing light of the lounge. _'That arrogant little-' _her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of quickly advancing footsteps. 

Suddenly scared, Sakura turned around only to find Syaoran walking closely behind her. She shot him a glare, earning a mock-hurt look from the cocky King. "What?" he asked in an injured tone, "I'm supposed to be protecting you, remember?" Sakura rolled her eyes and continued walking; however, Syaoran smirked when he noticed her slow down her pace and walk beside him.

As the couple neared the doors leading to the lounge, Syaoran saw his chance and wrapped one of his muscular arms around the small shoulders of Sakura. "Hey!" Sakura screamed, as she tried to pry his arm away from her. Syaoran, however, only moved her closer to himself, saying, "What? It's only natural for me to want to hold my girlfriend close to me!"

Sakura pouted and pushed harder, saying, "I am NOT your girlfriend, Li!" But before she could utter another word, Syaoran's lips came crashing down on hers for yet another long and demanding kiss. Parting, Syaoran smiled at Sakura's shocked face and said, "It's Syaoran, not Li."

Sakura glared at him and stubbornly insisted, "Whatever, LI!" And, just as before, Syaoran leaned in and gave her an affectionate kiss. Ending the kiss once again, Syaoran held Sakura in a close hug and whispered into her ear, "You do know that I'll keep on kissing you until you realize how ridiculous it is for you to call me by my last name?"

Sakura looked up at Syaoran's face and innocently asked, "So you'll stop if I'll start calling you by your first name?" Syaoran gave her a devious smirk, adding, "I never said THAT!"

Giving Syaoran one last glare, Sakura managed to push herself away from his embrace and quickly run to the safe haven of the lounge.

Entering the bright room, Sakura noticed that the loud crowd that filled the room before she left has dwindled down to a mere four people – Loda, Naoko, Yamazaki, and Seiriu. Seeing Sakura walk into the room immediately made the four drop whatever conversation they were in and look up at her in expectation. Sakura arched an eyebrow and asked, "What?"

Naoko smiled at her friend and inquired, "Well..?" "Well what?" Sakura shot back. Seiriu, not liking being kept in suspense, came out and forwardly asked, "Are you the King's girlfriend!"

"No." "**Yes**" were the different responses that Seiriu got, as Syaoran walked into the lounge and took his place right next to Sakura. Giving them a cheeky grin, one of his well-built arms once again found its way around Sakura's shoulder.

Naoko laughed, mumbling, "Tomoyo is going to have a fit when she hears about his." The boys only whistled and gave their congratulations to Syaoran on getting such a great catch like Sakura. Their congratulations, however, were cut short by Sakura's protest. "I AM NOT YOUR GIRFLRIEND!"

Syaoran smiled at Sakura and pulled her into a tighter embrace, telling his friends, "She's so cute when she acts so stubborn."

Sakura growled and pulled away from Syaoran, saying, "You are so full of it, and I don't have the energy to deal with this, so I'm going to bed. Goodnight everyone!" And then, turning on her heels, Sakura grumpily walked out of the lounge and into the direction of Tomoyo's room.

Watching Sakura's retreating form, Syaoran turned to Naoko and asked, "Does she always make it this hard for a guy to become her boyfriend?" Naoko smiled and nodded her head in affirmation. Sighing, Syaoran wished the group a good night and ran to catch up with his lady.

Seeing Sakura head for Tomoyo's room, Syaoran cried out "And where do you think you're going?" Sakura, without turning her head to look at Li, replied in the most annoyed tone, "To Tomoyo's room. You know – the room I've been sleeping in for the past week?"

Not liking the tone in her voice, Syaoran decided to show her who's boss. Therefore, before Sakura even had the chance to squeak, Syaoran grabbed her around the waist and flung her over one of his strong shoulders.

"You seem to have forgotten that you'll be sleeping on my floor tonight," he said in an authoritative tone. Half expecting Sakura to start hitting his back, Syaoran was surprised when the only reply he got was Sakura saying, "Fine. But you do know that I can walk there myself?" Stopping, Syaoran gently set her down on the floor. A moment of silence passed between Sakura and Syaoran as they stared into each others eyes. Letting out a sigh, Sakura lowered her head in an over exaggerated sign of defeat and mumbled, "Lead the way."

Syaoran laughed at Sakura's theatrics and offered her his hand. Suspiciously eyeing it for a second, Sakura slowly and gingerly took his hand with her own.

Walking hand in hand, Syaoran led Sakura through the stairways and halls of the mansion, taking her to the Royal Floor – the bedchambers of the Face Cards. Spending most of the way in silence, both Sakura and Syaoran had enough time to let their thoughts wander.

Stealing a glance at his beautiful companion, Syaoran smiled and thought, _'She's letting me hold her hand… May be she's already warming up to the thought of being with me.' _Not caring at how corny his ideas were sounding, Syaoran smiled and gave Sakura's hand a gentle squeeze.

Feeling a slight pressure coming from Syaoran's hand, Sakura blushed, thinking, _'His hand is so warm!' _She then took a quick glance towards his face and noticed that he was wearing a warm smile. Blushing even more, Sakura thought, _'If he wasn't such an arrogant jerk, I bet he'd make a great boyfriend…'_

Coming to the end of a long hall, Syaoran opened a set of huge double doors using a set of keys and went inside, pulling Sakura in after him. Getting inside the room, he flicked on the light and heard Sakura gasp in astonishment.

Sakura found herself standing in the doorway of a gigantic bedroom, decorated in dazzling shades of green. The walls of the room were a light mint-green, with pictures of meadows and lush forests on the walls. A large window was covered by hunter-green velvet curtains, trimmed with gold fringe. A four-poster bed had emerald green satin bedding embellished with gold embroidery and the same colored canopy tied back with beaded tassels. In the far corner of the room a large mahogany desk stood by the window, stacks of papers and books sprawled on to of it; numerous bookshelves were not too far away, either.

The light of a small crystal chandelier gave off an ethereal glow, enhancing the elegant feel of the room. Sakura then noticed a small coffee table and a couple of sitting chairs by a gorgeously carved fireplace – a cozy place for a chat. Vases full of gorgeous flower arrangements filled the room, giving it a fresh atmosphere and an intoxicating aroma. Looking around the room, Sakura simply could not hold back her amazement.

"You like?" Syaoran's voice came from behind Sakura, sounding smooth and slightly insinuating. Sakura tore her eyes away from the scenery and looked at Syaoran, saying, "It's very… green."

Syaoran laughed, "How perceptive of you." With that, he stepped forward and removed the brown blazer he was wearing throughout the evening. "Green happens to be my favorite color," he continued while throwing the blazer on one of the sitting chairs. Syaoran then walked over to the desk in the corner of the room and retrieved something from one of its drawers.

"I guess that this is your bedroom, then…" Sakura mumbled as she took another look around the room. Syaoran grunted in affirmation and then walked back to Sakura, throwing her a small shining object. After barely catching the article, Sakura opened her palms and saw that it was a small gold key. Holding the key out in her hand, she threw Syaoran a questioning look.

"It's the key to this room. You'll need it…" was Syaoran's nonchalant response. "Why?" was Sakura's obvious response. "Because you'll be staying in that room…" He then took her free hand into his own and led her over to another set of doors in the bedroom. Opening the entry, he revealed another – smaller – bedroom. This one was gone in soft shades of light green and silver.

Looking around the place that she was to spend the night in, Sakura was satisfied to say that she liked it a lot more than Li's bedroom. While she appreciated the elegance of his bedroom, she felt like she was in a museum rather than a bedroom. Taking a look at her bed – a white canopy bed with mint-green silk sheets and valances – she smiled, knowing she'd be able to have a good night's rest here.

Noticing that there was another set of doors leading to the outside hall, Sakura turned to Syaoran and asked, "Why do I need a key to your room if there's a set of doors leading outside right here?" She then walked over to the doors and tried to open them. She pulled on the handle and realized that it was locked.

Syaoran leaned on the wall and said, "I don't want you leaving the room without me knowing about it, so I'll keep that door locked. This will also limit the number of entrances Sirota can use to get in here."

Not liking the idea of being a semi-prisoner, but liking the idea of Sirota sneaking in through that door even less, Sakura surrendered to Li's reasoning. Taking a last glance at the door, Sakura felt a small chill run down her spine. Looking away from it, she made her way back to where Syaoran was standing.

"Why do you lock your bedroom, anyway?" Sakura inquired. "Several reasons… Mostly to escape Meilin, or my uncle, or the herds of my swooning fan-girls." He gave Sakura a devilish grin and watched her roll her eyes.

"Well," she said, "Thanks for showing me to my room. And now I have to go and get my pajamas." She was about to walk away when Syaoran stopped her in her tracks. "You have to go get your pajamas? You didn't bring them with you!" he inquired.

Sakura looked at him like he was crazy, saying, "Did you see me carrying them?" Li sighed and whined, "But Tomoyo's room is all the way across the castle! I don't want to walk you back and forth again! Besides, didn't you say you were tired?"

Sakura rolled her eyes, "It won't take me that long… I'll be right back." She tried to walk away again, only to find that Syaoran's grip on her arm tightened. "I won't let you walk alone!" he said in all seriousness. "Well," Sakura said in a tone matching his, "I need something to sleep in. So I'm going to go and get my pajamas."

Looking at her for a few moments, Syaoran relinquished his hold on her and quickly walked over to an enormous walk-in closer located in his room. Shouting, "Hold on!" over his shoulder, he disappeared into the closet and came out a few moments later, carrying a set of green, striped pajamas.

Handing them to Sakura, he said, "They might be a little big, but they'll work. Here…" Taking the pajamas from Syaoran, Sakura blushed and said, "Thanks…" Syaoran cleared his throat and muttered, "I'll leave you to change…" He then walked into his room and closed the door leading to it, leaving Sakura completely alone.

Finally getting a moment of solitude, Sakura lifted the pajamas Syaoran has given her and slightly sniffed a corner of them. She blushed and a small smile formed of her lips. _'They smell like him…' _

Walking over to the bed, she lay the pajamas down and began to change. As she was doing that, she kept getting an eerie feeling as if she was being watched. Glancing around the room, she tried to see where the source of her discomfort came from. To her surprise, it was not the door leading back to Syaoran's room (for she thought he might have opened the door to peek). Her eyes shifted to the door leading into the hall and the cold shiver returned to her spine. Feeling thoroughly scared, Sakura decided to not waste any time. Quickly buttoning up the top of the pajamas, she ran to Syaoran's door and opened it without knocking.

What she saw then took her breath away. Syaoran was himself in the middle of changing into his pajamas and at that moment he was only wearing the bottoms, revealing a muscled stomach and a toned back. Turning around to see Sakura, Syaoran almost laughed at her adorable expression. Her pink lips were lightly open and a bright red blush colored her entire face. The over-sized pajamas that she wore only added to her cuteness.

"S-sorry!" She stammered and hastily spun around. Syaoran chuckled and put on his pajama shirt while flirtatiously saying, "Like what you saw?" Blushing even more, Sakura didn't dare to turn around OR to deny the question. Suddenly, she felt two strong arms wrap around her waist.

"Now…" Syaoran's voice was slow and sultry as he spoke right into her ear, "Why did you rush into my room?" Sakura's knees nearly melted when she felt his hot breath on her skin. "I… I just got thins creepy feeling when I was changing and I guess I got a little scared…" Her voice trailed off when she felt Syaoran rest his chip on her shoulder and bring her body closer to his.

"Oh?" was his sly reply, "So you came running into my room because you were scared?" Sakura nodded and Syaoran continued, "Well… I have a suggestion that might take care of that problem." Sakura turned her head to try and face him, asking, "What?"

Syaoran smirked, "You can sleep with me." Sakura blushed madly and pried herself out of Li's embrace. "NO! I will NOT sleep with you!" Laughing at her innocent reaction, Syaoran held up his hands in defense and chuckled, "Alright, alright! Do YOU have a better suggestion?"

Sakura bit her bottom lip and glanced back at the eerie door in her room. Looking back at Syaoran, she mumbled, "Well… I won't ask to stay with you, but would you mind if I left the door to your room open? That would help putting me at ease…"

She gave him one of her most cute expressions and Syaoran felt his heart skip a beat. _'With that face, how could I ever say no to her…?' _He gave her a kind smile and widened the opening of the door that separated their rooms. "Anything for you, dearest."

Sakura smiled back and said, "Thanks! Well… Good night, Li!" But before she could realize her mistake, Syaoran turned her around and gave her a passionate kiss. Ending it, he smiled at her, "It's Syaoran, remember? Although, I must say, I was hoping you'd do that." He gave her a playful wink and poked her nose as a sign of affection. "Good night, Sakura."

Sakura blushed a deep shade of maroon and walked to her bed. _'I have GOT to remember to start calling him by his first name!' _She looked over to the door leading to Syaoran's bedroom and saw him settle in his own bed. She brought up one of her hands to her face and touched her lips. _'Although – and I hate to admit this, but – his kisses are simply…' _she gave out a dreamy sigh _'divine.'_

Happily snuggling into the soft milky-green sheets of her bed, Sakura contemplated on how shocked Tomoyo will be when she'll hear about all of this. She was about to fall asleep when her eyes caught sight of the door leading into the hall. Feeling the creepy chill return, Sakura shook her head free of bad thoughts and guided her eyes to the door leading to Syaoran's bedroom. Comforted by the sight of Syaoran's four-poster bed, Sakura felt her eyelids droop.

Within a few moments, the she fell into a deep slumber…

… to the sound of a rattling door lock.

* * *


End file.
